Performance director Stuart Horsepool is adamant Britain’s rising short track speed skaters are starting to transform into winners after an impressive outing at the season opening Star Class Cup in Dresden.
Seven medals were collected in total with – one gold, five silvers and one bronze – with Charlotte Gilmartin, who represented Team GB at the Winter Olympics in Sochi earlier this year – among the successors.
She finished second in the senior women’s classification while Billy Simms claimed the same placing overall in the senior men’s, both now set for the World Cup opener in Salt Lake City at the start of next month.
Kathryn Thomson placed fifth behind Gilmartin and Josh Cheetham third overall behind Simms with performance director Horsepool crediting the experience to help change mentalities as the season moves into full swing.
“I was really pleased with the quality of the competition in Dresden, both from the GB skaters and that of other countries,” he said.
“The whole idea is to go there and develop racing skills and it has given them lots of areas to work on and develop ahead of the next race of the season.
“We’ve also come away with our fair share of medals which, combined with the experience they’ve gained from the competition, makes for a successful weekend of racing.
“Overall, the squad showed that they have moved forward and that they’re becoming more competitive as the season goes on.
“In the past, they haven’t all been fast enough to keep up with some of the other skaters, but that wasn’t the case this time. They’re all moving forward and developing and I’m happy with their progress.”
© Sportsbeat 2014