This weekend Poland hosted the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in the Hala Olivia Arena, Gdansk.
The action kicked off for the British team on Friday with Niall Treacy, Peter Riches and Theo Collins along with the men’s relay (Westley Yates & Jonathan Moody) fighting through the qualifying rounds for a spot in the main event Saturday and Sunday. A successful first day Treacy and Collins qualify through to the main program along with the relay team qualified through to the Semi Finals.
Saturday saw Niall battle his way through a tough 1500m semi-final securing himself a spot in the B final and a 9th place overall. The relay team then took to the ice later in the day for a shot at the A final, but with an unfortunate fall with 9 laps to go meant a B final was the best the team could achieve.
Bring the competition to its final day the team began with a fantastic skate in the relay B final taking 1st place and a 5th overall! Moving on to the main event Treacy & Collins got things started with some fast tactical skating in the quarter finals to secure a place in the semi-finals. With two top 10’s now guaranteed it was all to play for in the semi-finals, and with two exceptional skates in both semi-finals Treacy and Collins both securing their first Championship A Final appearances in their career. With the possibility of medals up for grabs Collins took a strong start with Treacy close behind trading places as the race pushed on, leading Treacy to a superb silver medal and Collins to finish a very respectable 6th place overall.
Theo Collins commented “we had a clear plan heading into the final and I think we executed it perfectly. It helped Niall to a silver and although I faded towards the end, I’m more than happy to have made an A final at my first Europeans. I’m very excited for the future of the team, winning the B final in the relay amongst the best in Europe has given us confidence we can perform at the top level and bodes well for the rest of the season.”
Niall Treacy commented “Fantastic end to Euros! So happy to see the team and my hard work paying off. Was incredible to have two British athletes in the A final and massive thanks to Theo who skated fantastic. Also, for the boys relay finishing in 5th really shows how well the team is coming along. Super thrilled.”
