SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Kyodo) Veteran speed skater Maki Tabata came second in the women's 1,500 meters at the season-ending World Cup in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
Tabata crossed the line in 1 minute, 54.79 seconds to place second behind Kristina Groves of Canada, who timed 1:54.08 for the top honors at the Utah Olympic Oval. Brittany Schussler of Canada was in third with 1:54.91.
"Of course I am happy to make a podium finish but I also believe I could have done even better," said Tabata. "I was in good form since before I skated and thought that I might be able to produce my best result yet."
In the women's 500 meters, Tomomi Okazaki produced the best result among Japanese with a fifth-place finish in 37.66 seconds while Sayuri Yoshii (37.75) was back in seventh.