Speed skater Whelbourne makes his mark on Olympic debut

From James Toney, Sportsbeat, in Vancouver

GREAT Britain's Jack Whelbourne can't wait to get back on the ice after an encouraging Winter Olympic debut in Vancouver.

I'M THROUGH: British teen short track skater Jack Whelbourne celebrates after progressing through his 1500m heat - but he missed out on advancing again in the semi-final (Getty Images)

Whelbourne progressed through his 1500m short track speed skating heat in fortuitous circumstances, advancing when China's Song Weilong fell just metres before the finish line.

But his luck ran out in the semis as he finished fifth, with only the top two reaching the final.

However, the youngest member of the British short track had no complaints with his performance.

"I had no expectations, I'm only 18 and this is my first Olympics," he said.

"This is only my fifth major competition racing this distance. This is also my first year on the World Cup circuit and I think I'm starting to compete with the top guys.

"My coaches have told me that I'm out here for experience and it's certainly been that so far."

Whelbourne will next compete in Wednesday's men's relay where he'll be joined by Anthony Douglas, who failed to progress through his 1500m heat

"I got stuck behind the French guy and when I finally got past him I'd left myself too much to do," he admitted.

Great Britain's Sarah Lindsay and Elise Christie both progressed to Wednesday's 500m quarter-finals at the Pacific Coliseum.

Lindsay, who is competing at her third Olympics, took a bold step to only focus on the sprint distance at these Games - meaning her heat was a nervy affair.

She started well but was just edged on the line by Canada's Marianne St-Gelais, clocking a 44.716 second time.

"I'm usually sketchy on the first race to get my nerves out and then I improve after that," she admitted.

"My biggest fear was to do four years hard training then come here and only do one race. 

"I tried really hard not to focus on that but it was hard."

Christie, who won 1500m silver at the recent European Championships, also looked comfortable in qualifying.

But with the top two progressing from each four skater heat, her cause was aided when Bulgaria's Marina Georgieva-Nikolova was disqualified for a false start.

"I'm a long distance skater really, so to be so strong at a sprint proves that I'm in really good form," she said.

"This is not my main event, so it's great for me to progress and prove that I'm in the top 16 in the world."

As predicted, China's Wang Meng set the pace, adding the Olympic to the world record she set in Beijing two years ago.

She clocked 43.926 seconds while team-mate Zhou Yang and American Katherine Reutter also underlined their medal credentials.

 AS IT HAPPENS: Day two of the 2010 WInter Olympics in Vancouver

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