Elise Christie wins 1,500m short-track speed skating heat and Charlotte Gilmartin qualifies
Written by News on 17/02/2018
Elise Christie and Charlotte Gilmartin safely navigated the first round of the women’s 1,500m short track speed skating event in Pyeongchang.
Christie, looking to overcome the heartbreak of falling in the 500m final, won her heat in impressive fashion, while Gilmartin made it through her race in third spot.
The fifth heat, which involved Christie, was raced at a dawdle, with the Scot sitting back in fourth or fifth place until the pace hotted up in the final 500m.
That appeared to suit Christie well, as she came around the outside to move into the top three and then sprinted past China’s Zhou Yang and Canada’s Valerie Maltais to grab the lead.
She had little trouble in holding on to top spot over the last lap-and-a-half and crossed the line in 2:29.316.
Gilmartin’s race was a little quicker, and she sat in second for much of it, before being passed late on by Australia’s Deanna Lockett – her finishing time of 2:29.005 was strikingly similar to Christie’s.
The third Team GB competitor – Kathryn Thomson – could only finish fourth in her heat and was eliminated from the event.
(c) Sky News 2018: Elise Christie wins 1,500m short-track speed skating heat and Charlotte Gilmartin qualifies
