REDDITCH short track speed skater Charlotte Gilmartin was in impressive form at the weekend’s Invitation Cup event in Holland as she claimed third place in the women’s 1,500m race to finish fifth overall in the women’s event.
Gilmartin’s Great Britain team-mate Elise Christie was the dominant force at the two-day Heerenveen event, winning two individual distances (1,000m and 1,500m) to finish first in the overall classification on points.
This is the Scot’s fifth consecutive win at the competition, which was the squad’s first international race of the 2014/15 season.
In the men’s competition, Jack Whelbourne skated consistently to take second place in the overall classification after racing through to the final of the 1,000m and winning. On Saturday, he came second in the 1,500m, coming in closely behind Hungary’s Sandor Liu Shaolin.
There was also a top ten overall classification finish from Richard Shoebridge who finished ninth and the men’s relay team finished third behind Hungary and the Netherlands.
The event was a preparation competition for the squad ahead of the start of the ISU World Cup Series, which begins early next month (November 7-9) in Salt Lake City, USA, followed by the second stage in Montreal, Canada (November 14-16).
Christie said: “It was great to be back competing and to come away with a good result. The first international race of the season is always a challenge, as you are going into it blind without really knowing who your key competition is, but I was confident amongst the other skaters and was able to use it as an opportunity to try different tactics and sharpen my skills.
“I will try to take as much as I can from here and build on it going into Salt Lake City.”
