2 March 2013 – Erfurt, GERMANY

It wasn’t the 1000m result that he’d hoped for, but Shani Davis inched closer to the overall World Cup 1000m lead today.

Racing in the penultimate 1000m race of the World Cup season, Shani finished eighth on the day but managed to pick up ground on the overall leaders in a race that was won by fellow Illinoisan Brian Hansen, who picked up his first career World Cup victory.

Shani, a two-time 1000m winner this season, now sits third in the overall WC standings, just 26 points behind leader Kjeld Nuis of The Netherlands. With a victory in the World Cup Final next weekend, where points are multiplied by 1.5, Shani can still claim a record sixth Overall World Cup 1000m crown.

Shani has a U.S.-best 53 World Cup wins – second all-time – including a record 36 at 1000m. He is one of only three men to accumulate over 10,000 points in World Cup history.

[Photo credit: Martin de Jong]

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