The competition took place in Gdansk (Poland) last weekend.
It was not the best of days for the Luxembourgish athlete, who finished his three races as 39th (500m), 37th (1,000m), and 37th again (1,500m). Murphy thus ended as 41st out of 45 competitors in the general standings. The 20-year-old was left unsatisfied with these results, which showed little improvement from last year's European Championships. Nevertheless, Murphy was able to draw some positive conclusions from the competition:
"The results may not have been what I hoped for, but it was also my first race in over a year. And there were some positives. Mentally, technically, and tactically, I improved, but there is still some endurance work to be done."
In about six weeks' time, the next season highlight will take place: the World Championships in Dordrecht (Netherlands). Until then, Murphy will train outside of the Grand Duchy, due to coronavirus measures: "I will join the Polish national team and some other racers to prepare. I feel that the direction I'm going in has potential, but I still need to make some minor adjustments."
The European Championships did not count as qualifiers for the next Olympic Winter Games. Those will only start at the end of 2021: "Until then, I will try not to think too much about securing my participation." Murphy was already able to participate in the Olympic Youth Games in 2017 in Erzurum (Turkey), where he won the gold medal over 1,500 metres.
The upcoming Games are set to start on 4 February 2022 in Beijing, China.
