Hamar, Norway - Kristina Groves has been searching for what's been missing in her races.

She's been fast this season, but not as quick as the Canadian speed
skater knows she needs to be in Vancouver.

So on the advice of an old friend, legendary Norwegian speed skater Johann Koss, Groves went back to her hotel Saturday night and watched footage from her old races. After a respectable fifth-place finish in
the women's 5000m at the World Cup in Hamar, Groves wanted to know
exactly what was keeping her off the podium.

So with Canadian coach Xiuli Wang sitting next to her, Groves fired up
her laptop and called up the video footage from one of her two silver
medals at the 2006 Turin Olympics. When the camera pulled in for a
close-up of the Ottawa skater, the answer was clear.

"I said, 'Just look at your eyes. Look at how focused your eyes are
there,'" Wang said yesterday after Groves won her first individual World
Cup gold of the season.

It was something the coach had been harping on this week, imploring
Groves to start honing her mental focus as much as her physical
performance.

It worked. On Sunday, a different, perhaps more steely eyed version of
Groves lined up for the 1500m. And as she crossed the finish line with
her fastest time ever in that event on European ice, the normally
reserved skater was uncharacteristically vocal.

"I let out kind of a little scream," Groves said after. "It was kind of
a bit of a relief to know that's there and I have absolutely the
capability to put that kind of race together."

Her time of 1:55.16 outpaced Ireen Wust of the Netherlands who won
silver (1:55.95), and Czech skater Martina Sablikova, who was third
(1:56.34). Canadian skater Justine L'Heureaux finished 16th with a time
of 2:00.29.

Groves is expected to be a medal contender in Vancouver, but for the
first few weeks of the season she has been trying to conserve herself
for the Olympics. As a veteran of the past two Winter Games, the
32-year-old is no stranger to the strategy needed to endure the grind of
a World Cup season.

But with Groves claiming just two medals on the circuit heading into
yesterday - a bronze in the 1500m and a gold in the four-skater Team
Pursuit - Wang was concerned Groves' competitive fire was suffering from
being too conservative.

On Friday the two sat down for a meeting in Hamar. Groves joked
yesterday that it was more of a lecture than a talk.

"Julie's words really hit home the other day, challenging me to be more
focused and more in the race -- and to not be scared to be [peaking] too
early," Groves said. "So I just said: fine, I'm going to do it. And it
was a really, really good lesson and a fantastic race."

After she won, Groves skated over to Wang and requested more lectures,
more often.

On Wang's advice, a picture of Groves' glaring on the start line at
Turin is now the desktop photo on the skater's computer, where she can
see it everyday as a reminder of what's needed.

"Xiuli said, 'I have your body in my hands and I decide how far I want
to let you go, but you have control of your brain and how much you want
to give,'" Groves said.

Her return to form is good news for the Canadian squad on a weekend that
saw another significant bright spot when Regina's Lucas Makowsky claimed
his first-ever World Cup silver in the men's 1500m race on Saturday.

It was Makowsky's first World Cup podium finish - though flowers were
awarded in place of actual medals in Hamar - and bodes well for his
drive to be a threat for a medal in Vancouver.

"All of my friends were super pumped," Makowsky said yesterday. "For it
to be this year, the Olympic year, it just shows that progress is
coming."

But Makowsky had little time to bask in the win, having to immediately
start preparing for the 1000m event yesterday.

Makowsky and teammate Mathieu Giroux of Montreal were both trying to
land Canada spots for that event in the Olympics, which will either
require them to earn more World Cup points or log a fast enough time to
make the top 16 skaters. The 10,000m in Norway this weekend was their
only chance to skate the event on the World Cup circuit prior to
Vancouver.

"I kind of had to take [the silver] in stride," Makowsky said yesterday
of his podium finish Saturday.

"I called my brother and my dad, and some friends back home, and sent a bunch of e-mails and messages on Facebook. But I knew I had a 10k to skate today, so I knew I had to stay grounded."

Makowsky finished in 10th place in the 10,000m with a time of 13:34.48,
while Giroux finished in 11th place with a time of 13:34.74. Dutch star
Sven Kramer won gold with a time of 12:50.96, setting a new track
record in Hamar.