Team GB Builds Early Momentum In Short Track Speed Skating
Team GB enjoyed a strong start and built important momentum on the opening night of short track speed skating Saturday at Pacific Coliseum.
In the women’s 500 meters, Sarah Lindsay and Elise Christie both advanced from the qualification round to the quarter-finals.
Lindsay, an Olympic veteran who is competing in her third Winter Games, finished second in her qualification heat with a time of 44.716 – just fractions of a second out of the top spot.
“I really wanted to get comfortable with the environment and get that first race out of the way, so I’m happy with how things went,” said Lindsay. “To be honest, it was a bit messy out there, so I’m glad to get this round behind me and move on to the quarter-finals.”
Christie, making her Olympic debut, also finished second in her heat, with a time of 44.374.
“It is so exciting to be here,” said Christie. “There are so many people cheering and shouting you on, how can you not just smile? The 500 meters is not my main event. I’m more of a distance specialist, so to get through to the next round is a very good result.”
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the women’s 500 meters are Wednesday night at Pacific Coliseum.
In the men’s 1500 meters, Jack Whelbourne avoided a last-lap pileup in the qualification round to finish third in his heat with a time of 2:14.972 and advance to the semi-finals. He then finished fifth in his semi-final heat with a time of 2:17.156 and narrowly missed qualifying for the B Final.
“The Olympic Games is only my fifth major competition in the 1500 meters, so this is great experience and will really help us with the relays,” said the 18-year-old Whelbourne, who was also making his Olympic debut.
Team mate Anthony Douglas narrowly missed advancing to the semi-finals by placing fourth in his qualification heat with a time of 2:16.622.
“This is an unbelievable atmosphere,” said Douglas. “I just left myself a little too much work to do at the end of the race, but I got a good feel for things and that’s something I will take into the relay. Everyone is racing well right now and our team is strong.”