| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 26 January 1996 Irvine, Scotland | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Short track speed skating | |||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic finals | 2018, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kathryn Thomson (born 26 January 1996) is a British short track speed skater who competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Thomson was born in Irvine, [1] Scotland, and raised in Kilmarnock. [2] She attended Wellington School in Ayr [3] and Grange Academy in Kilmarnock, [4] before leaving full-time education at the age of 16 to pursue her career in short track speed skating. [4]
In 2009, Thomson competed at the "Future Champions Trophy" in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At the time, she was training on the ice twice a week. [5] Thomson moved to Nottingham, England in 2012, to become a full-time athlete. [2] [6] She is based at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. [7] Thomson won a silver medal in the 500 metres event at the 2013 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival. She crashed out of her 1500 metres semi-final at the Festival. [8] At the start of the 2016–17 season, Thomson set her personal best in a World Cup event in Calgary, Canada. [6]
Thomson qualified to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the 500, 1000 and 1500 metres events. [9] Thomson finished fourth in her 1500 metres heat, and did not qualify for the final. [10] She finished third in her 500 metres heat, and did not qualify for the quarter final, [11] and fourth in her 1,000 metres heat, again not qualifying for the quarter final. [12] She was part of the British team that came third in the mixed team relay at the 2018–19 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup event in Dresden. [13] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomson moved in with her parents and worked in a Dunelm furniture store to fund her participation in short track speed skating; [14] the sport did not receive funding for the 2018–2022 funding cycle, and it cost Thomson £22,000 to compete in the 2021–22 season. [15]
At the British trials for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thomson won the 7-lap time trial, 1 lap with a flying start, 1.5 laps from standing start [16] and 500 metres events. She tied for first in the 1,500 metres event with Elise Christie. [17] Thomson was selected for the 2022 Games in the 500, 1000 and 1500 metres events. [18] In the 500 and 1000 metres events, she finished last in her heat. [19] [20] She withdrew on medical grounds from the 1500 metre event before her first heat. [21]
Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a length of 111.111 metres (364.54 ft). The rink itself is 60 metres (196.85 ft) long by 30 metres (98.43 ft) wide, which is the same size as an Olympic-sized figure skating rink and an international-sized ice hockey rink. Related sports include long-track speed skating and inline speed skating.
Hong Kong, a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China, sent a delegation to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy from 10 to 26 February 2006. The delegation competed under the formal name Hong Kong, China. This was the SAR's second appearance at a Winter Olympic Games, and the delegation consisted of a single athlete, short track speed skater Han Yueshuang. Entered in three events, her best performance was 18th in the women's 1,000 metres race.
Arianna Fontana OMRI is an Italian short track speed skater, who has won eleven Olympic medals among these two gold medals in the 500m short track, one at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the second one at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Her medal haul following the 2022 Games made her the short track skater with the most Olympic medals. It also made her the Italian sportswoman with the highest number of Winter Olympic medals, one more than Stefania Belmondo. She specializes in the 500 m event.
Hong Kong, a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China, sent a delegation to compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from 12–28 February 2010. The delegation competed under the name "Hong Kong, China" (中國香港). This was the SAR's third appearance at a Winter Olympics, and the delegation consisted of a single short-track speed skater, Han Yueshuang. Han's best performance was 24th in the women's 500 metres.
Katherine Reutter-Adamek is an American short track speed skater. She is a two-time medalist in the Winter Olympics, 2011 overall world silver medalist and the 2010–2011 overall ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup champion.
Elise Christie is a British former short track speed skater. She was coached by Nicky Gooch and she specialised in the 1000m event. She is ten times a European gold medallist, including two overall European titles in 2015 and 2016. In the 2017 World Championships in Rotterdam she won world titles in the 1000m and 1500m events, along with the overall gold, marking her as the first British woman and first European woman to achieve such a feat.
Sarah Joanne Lindsay is a British short track speed skater who has competed at the Winter Olympic Games on three occasions.
Jorien ter Mors is a retired Dutch speed skater on both short track and long track. She was the Olympic champion in the 1500 metres and team pursuit at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 1000 metres at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Charlotte Upcott is a British short track speed skater who competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the 500m and 1500m events.
Yara van Kerkhof is a Dutch short track speed skater. She won the silver medal in the 500 m event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Kim Boutin is a Canadian short track speed skater. Boutin won silver in the 1,000 m and bronze in the 500 m and 1,500 m events at the 2018 Winter Olympics at Pyeonchang, Korea. She was the first Canadian female short track speed skater to win three individual Olympic medals in a single Olympics and the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500 m. As a result of her three medal performance she was named the flag bearer for Canada at the closing ceremonies for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Boutin has also won junior and senior world championships and World Cup medals.
Short track speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics was held at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, South Korea. The eight events were scheduled to take place between 10 and 22 February 2018.
The Netherlands competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, between 9 and 25 February 2018. Speed skater Jan Smeekens was appointed as flag bearer for the opening ceremony, which was attended by King Willem Alexander, Queen Máxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who also observed the sporting events that featured Dutch competitors.
Singapore sent a delegation to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018. This marked the debut for Singapore at the Winter Olympics. The country was represented by single competitor, speed skater Cheyenne Goh. She did not advance out of the qualifying round of her event, the women's 1500 metres race.
The men's 1500 metres in short track speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics took place at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, South Korea.
Suzanne Schulting is a Dutch short track speed skater who is also active as a long track speed skater. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, she won the Netherlands' first-ever gold medal in short track speed skating and became one of the youngest-ever Dutch Winter Olympic champions. She is also a two-time overall World Champion and three-time overall European Champion, and the current world record holder for 1000m.
Lin Xiaojun, born Lim Hyo-jun, is a South Korean-born Chinese short track speed skater. He is the 2018 champion of the Men's 1500 m event in short track speed skating at the Winter Olympics, and also set the new Olympic record for the event. Originally starting as a swimmer, Lim took up skating at a young age. Despite multiple injuries early on in his career, he notably won gold at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics upon his international debut in the Boys' 1000 m event. He would later win the 1000 m and 1500 m events in the Budapest leg of the 2017–18 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup and earn selection for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Upon his Olympic debut, Lim won the gold medal, setting a new Olympic record of 2:10.485 in the process, beating Lee Jung-su's previous record set at the 2010 games.
Maryse Perreault is a former short track speed skater who competed on the Canadian speed skating team from 1981 to 1990. At the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships during these years, she won over twenty combined medals in individual races and the 3000 metres relay. In the overall World Championships classification, Perreault was the 1982 ladies champion and had a top three placing in 1983, 1986 and 1989. Outside of the World Championships, Perreault won bronze at the 1988 Winter Olympics in the 3000 metres relay when short track speed skating was a demonstration sport. Perreault was named to the Speed Skating Canada Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1992.
Hong Kong, a special administrative region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China, competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, from 4 to 20 February 2022. The delegation competed under the formal name Hong Kong, China. This was the SAR's sixth appearance at a Winter Olympic Games, since its first appearance in 2002.
