Elise Christie admits it was a night of mixed emotions as she skated to silver in the 500m at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Moscow, Russia.
The 24-year-old endured a difficult start to the day after she missed out on a place in the 1500m final following a fall.
There was still the hope of success in the 500m but that was taken away by China’s Kexin Fan who continued her dominance in the distance by taking gold.
And, while Christie was pleased with silver, she knows there could have been more on the day.
“I had a bit of a bad start to the day today when I fell in the semi finals – I was disappointed but it’s just one of those things unfortunately and there was nothing I could do about it,” she said.
“I knew that it was a totally different race though (the 500m) and I still had chance to medal so I was ready for it.
“I finished top in both my quarter and semi finals but found the final a bit more challenging. Under the circumstances, I’m really pleased with Silver, but I believe that I could have got more out of it if my head was in a different place.”
Charlotte GIlmartin was also in action in the 1500m semi-finals but could only qualify for the B final where she finished tenth.
Elsewhere, Jack Whelbourne missed out on a place in the 1500m semi-final after receiving a penalty and in the 500m he and teammate Jon Eley couldn’t make it beyond the quarter finals, finishing 16th and 11th respectively.
However, despite the disappointment Stuart Horsepool, Performance Director for GB Short Track, was full of praise for all his athletes.
“Jack and Jon both had bumps on the start and missed out on a place in their finals. They are up against the best skaters in the world in 500m here in Moscow, so two top 16 finishes out of 40 skaters is still a great achievement as the sport is so competitive and unpredictable.
“The same goes for Charlotte - she placed 10th in 1,500m out of the top 42 female speed skaters in the world and that’s no easy feat. It just goes to show much all of the skaters have progressed this year.”
© Sportsbeat 2015