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 The 31-year-old American, the first black athlete to win an
individual Winter Olympics gold medal, will try to claim his third
straight 1,000m title in Russia and said his love of competition
suggested he had more years left in the sport.
"I'm as hungry to compete and win now as I've ever been, maybe even
more so," Davis told Reuters via email.
"There are still many records and milestones I'd like to achieve, in
Sochi and beyond, and I'll keep competing so long as the desire is
there.
"Training for speed skating is exhausting, mentally and physically,
but the wisdom of age and experience enables me to adapt my training
to my circumstances.
"Funny, I keep reading in the media that Sochi is my last Olympics.
That might be more dramatic for storylines, but I wouldn't say that
at all. Maybe Sochi will be my last Olympics and maybe it won't."
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The Chicago-born Davis heads to Russia also attempting to add
to his two 1500m silver medals that he won at the Turin and
Vancouver Games.
He is in strong form having won three of the four 1000m World
Cup races this season and was victorious at the U.S. Trials in
Salt Lake City last month, winning both the 1,000 and 1,500
titles and also qualifying for the 500m.
While his focus is on February 8 — the start date of the speed
skating competition at the Adler Arena in the Black Sea resort — the lure of competing in one of the sport's hotbeds might be
hard to resist.
"As a speedskater, Pyeongchang will be a special Olympics, since
our sport is revered so much there," he said.
"Bottom line, my desire and body will be the determining
factors, and right now those are as strong as ever."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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