Ellia Smeding: British speed skater makes more history with bronze at European Championships
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 08/01/2023 at 21:51 GMT
Ellia Smeding was the first British woman to compete at a long track speed skating event at the Olympics last year, and continued raising the bar for her country at the European Sprint Championships atT Hamer in Norway in the 1000m event. Smedig secured a bronze medal, coming in behind two Dutch former world champions, Jutta Leerdam and Femme Kok..
Ellia Smeding
Image credit: Getty Images
Ellia Smeding made history as the first British woman to win a long track speed skating medal at an international competition.
The 24-year-old skater took a bronze medal at the European Sprint Championships in the 1,000m event in Norway, having gained experience at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Racing in Hamer, Norway, she could not match the pace of two former world champions, Netherlands duo Jutta Leerdam and Femme Kok, but still took a tremendous third.
"It really motivates me to take the next steps," she said.
Smeding is something of a modern pioneer as she last year became the first British woman to compete in the Olympic Games speed skating event for 42 years. Her partner Cornelius Kersten became the first British man to compete in the equivalent event at the Olympics in 30 years.
Smeding continued: "I feel I am getting to a higher level. That I finished with a 1,000m podium was a surprise on the one hand but also a confirmation of my hard work.
"I am so happy with this result."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement