Team GB long track speed skater looks to put ‘put the sport on the map’
Ellia Smeding will be competing in the Women’s 1,000 metre speed skating today
An Aylesbury-born speed skater is set to compete in her first race at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics today, as she looks to ‘put the sport on the map’.
Ellia Smeding who grew up in Chinnor, Oxfordshire, will be competing in the Women’s 1,000 metre speed skating today. She will also take on the 1,500m track on Friday 20th February.
In the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Smeding became the first female long track speed skater to represent Team GB since 1980.
Smeding said: “Being the only long track speed skater here, I want to put it on the map, make sure the sport is well known in the UK and it's just really cool to have a Team GB suit on the ice amongst all the other countries.
Last time at the Winter Olympics, Smeding broke British records in the 1000m and 1500m in the lead-up to the Games and finished 23rd and 27th respectively.
She says preparation has gone as good as it could have which helps her feel “more confident going into the event”.
Adding: “I'm really excited, obviously it's scary, but I think carrying that experience for my first Olympics into this one really helps to know what to expect and it helps the preparation even more.”
Smeding says “things just didn't really go to plan” last year after she picked up a hip injury during the 2024/25 season which “took forever to rehab from”.
She swapped her training base in the Netherlands for Calgary in Canada to work under coach Bart Schouten, saying a new coach and a fresh environment has “really helped accelerate my progress again.”
The 27-year-old speed skater also says, “I feel like I'm skating well and I just love competing.”
“It's so fun taking up these new experiences, being with the Team GB staff, and with the other athletes that are super talented.
“I think it's going to be a really exciting couple of weeks”, she adds.