"I dug in pretty hard there," he said. "It could have been pretty bad, probably would have been my last All-Star Game if I kept [falling], but luckily I got my footing."
Larkin said that he did not even think about the stumble as his regained his footing and pushed as hard as possible toward the finish line.
"I didn't even know I won until I heard the crowd go crazy," Larkin said. "I couldn't see the scoreboard or anything like that."
Larkin won the eight-man preliminary competition and the right to go for Gartner's mark with a first-round time of 12.894 seconds on a shortened course. That time bested Roman Josi (13.527) of the Nashville Predators in the first heat of the competition.
"When I saw I was going against him, I wasn't expecting to win because I know how fast he is from playing against him," said Josi, who still ended up with the second-fastest time of the preliminary round. "It's pretty impressive that he broke such an old record. He was flying out there."
Larkin was surprised at exactly how fast he went, but was not surprised that he was among the favorites even though he was considerably younger than the other competitors.
"I've always been a good skater, but as I have started working out and gaining strength, I think my speed has taken off," he said. "I've always had a really good first three or four steps."
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Brandon Saad won the second heat with a time of 13.634, beating the favored Matt Duchene (14.026) of the Colorado Avalanche.
In the third heat, Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall defeated Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson, who lost control coming out of the first turn and finished the race by skating backward after Hall pulled away. Hall had a time of 13.654.
Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang won a close heat against Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets, posting a time of 14.801.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin won the Bridgestone Fastest Skater competition last season in Columbus. He is presently suspended by the Lightning for not reporting to a game for the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League.
Rookies have won the Fastest Skater competition four consecutive times. Carl Hagelin won in 2012 and Michael Grabner won in 2011. Larkin is the only rookie in the 2016 All-Star Game and is the youngest of the 44 players.
Larkin earned three points for the Eastern Conference by winning his heat, posting the fastest preliminary time and breaking Gartner's record to help give the Eastern Conference a 5-1 team lead after one event.
"I think it is a fun thing, a celebration of how my year is going," he said of the record-setting performance. "I was able to just kick back, relax, meet the guys and have as much fun as I can. It's a no-pressure, fun weekend."