Aussie skater crashes headfirst on ice

Australian speed skater Daniel Greig's Olympic medal dreams were dashed in just 10 strides.

The medals hope crashed headfirst into the ice about 30m into the men's 500m race at Adler Arena earlier today.

It was on his tenth stride that the tip of Greig's skate dug sharply into the ice, causing the 22-year-old to lose his balance and tumble into a sliding sprawl.

Speedskating observers described the error as a "rookie mistake" caused by the pressure of the occasion, News Ltd reports.

Greig had been paired with three-time Japanese Olympian Yuya Oikawa, who went on to complete the race in 35.24sec, while Greig picked himself up to skate across the line in 80.55, placing him out of contention.

"I felt the blade come in the ice and I thought I could save it, so I decided to keep trying to push it through and out, but it just resulted in me going down faster," Greig told AAP afterwards.

"It's the worst thing you can possibly imagine to happen after about four years of training, but some things you just can't control."

The South Australian-born racer, who is based in The Netherlands for training purposes, was considered a strong chance at a medal after winning silver in the 500m event at the world sprint championships in Japan last month.

"This is possibly the hardest thing that any skater can imagine happening to them, especially in the sprint distances," he said.

"I know if I can get through this and out the other side with my determination intact, and I can manage to put a good race down in the 1000m, that's going to make me a much better athlete."

Greig has a chance to make amends in the 1000m race on Wednesday, although the 500m distance was his preferred event.