The British Olympic Association (BOA) today announced that five short track speed skaters have been officially selected for Team GB for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The five athletes join the curlers and figure skaters already selected bringing the total Team GB size to 21.
The selected athletes are:
Last month at the Turin and Kolomna World Cups the athletes, who are all training at the National Performance Centre in Nottingham, raced successfully to secure quota places across all race distances in both male and female individual events. Christie, despite her heart-stopping crash in Kolomna, along with Whelbourne, 22, and Gilmartin, 23, are now set to compete at Sochi in all individual distances; 500m, 1000m and 1500m.
Eley’s selection will make Sochi his third consecutive Olympic Winter Games, having competed at both Turin in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010. The 29-year-old will contend in two distances which will include his speciality, 500m, the event he placed 5th and 6th in respectively at the last two Winter Olympics. For Gilmartin, who is a European bronze medallist, and World Cup medallist Shoebridge, 28, this is their first selection for an Olympic Winter Games.
At Christie’s Olympic debut at Vancouver in 2010, she placed 11th, 20th and 19th in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m respectively, while Whelbourne placed 16th in the 1500m. Since then, the young duo have established themselves as Team GB’s highest ranked male and female short track skaters on the world circuit.
Christie’s accolades last season alone include a world number one ranking (1000m) following her multiple medals successes at the 2012/2013 World Cup series, as well as becoming the first British woman to win an individual World Championship medal. Former World Junior Champion Jack Whelbourne is the youngest member of the short track team for Sochi, but over the last two seasons the former European Champion has come into his own as a senior skater and has achieved a number of top 8 rankings at World Cups.
The short track speed skating at Sochi takes place from the 10-21 February, a much longer period than other international short track events, giving Team GB the opportunity to compete for medals in multiple distances.
Short track was introduced as a full medal sport in 1992 and is one of the most exciting spectator sports at the Olympic Winter Games for its unpredictability, high-speeds and notoriously dramatic races.
Team GB have won just one bronze medal at the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games courtesy of Nicky Gooch. Now the National Coach for GB Short Track, Gooch’s experience and knowledge has been invaluable on the team’s journey to qualify for Sochi.
Commented Sochi 2014 Team GB Chef de Mission Mike Hay:
Said Stuart Horsepool, Team GB Short Track Team Leader and Performance Director of GB Short Track:
Commented Elise Christie:
Said Jon Eley:
Commented Charlotte Gilmartin:
Commented Jack Whelbourne:
Said Richard Shoebridge:
Added Nicky Gooch, GB Short Track National Coach: