Kathryn Thomson

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.

Kathryn Thomson
Personal information
Born (1996-01-26) 26 January 1996
Irvine, Scotland
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportShort track speed skating
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals2018
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Silver medal – second place2014 Dresden3000 metre relay
European Youth Olympic Winter Festival
Silver medal – second place2013 Brașov500 metre

Early life

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]

Career

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]

References
  1. "Kathryn Thomson". teamgb.com. Team GB. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  2. "Kathryn Thomson". gbshorttrack.org. GB Short Track. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  3. "PyeongChang 2018 Awaits Former Wellington Pupil, Kathryn Thomson". wellingtonschool.org. Wellington School. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. "Kathryn Thomson ready for her Olympic debut while Elise Christie has her sights set on silverware". The Herald. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. Fullerton, Clair (27 March 2009). "Speed skating: Kathryn Thomson competes in Holland". Daily Record. Glasgow. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  6. Egelstaff, Susan (9 December 2016). "Speed skating: Kathryn Thomson keen to crash Olympic party". The National. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  7. Talbot-Smith, Charlie (16 February 2013). "Kathryn Thomson relishing speed skater medal battle". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  8. Talbot-Smith, Charlie (19 February 2013). "Speed skating: Kathryn Thomson hits new heights with silver in Romania". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  9. "Five short track speed skaters selected for PyeongChang 2018". Team GB. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  10. "Elise Christie wins 1,500m short-track speed skating heat and Charlotte Gilmartin qualifies". Sky Sports. 17 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  11. Heats results
  12. Heats results
  13. "CHRISTIE PRAISES TEAMMATES AS BRITISH QUARTET WIN MIXED RELAY BRONZE". Team GB. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  14. "Winter Olympics: Speed skater Kathryn Thomson goes from furniture shop to second Games". BBC Sport. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  15. "Ayrshire speed skater Kathryn Thomson hopeful £22k gamble will pay off at Beijing Olympics". Yahoo! Sports. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  16. "All You Need to Know From Days 1 & 2 of the Short Track Speed Skating Selection Event". Ice Skating. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  17. "Final Day of Racing Closes GB Performance Squad Selection Event". Ice Skating. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  18. "Three Short Track Speed Skaters Selected for Beijing 2022". Team GB. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  19. "Winter Olympics: Short-Track Skating – Women's 500m". BBC Sport. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  20. "Winter Olympics 2022 - GB's Kathryn Thomson out of 1000m as Suzanne Schulting and Arianna Fontana progress untroubled". Eurosport. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  21. Team GB [@TeamGB] (16 February 2022). "Following tests this afternoon it has been decided that Kat Thomson will not compete in the women's 1500m short track competition on medical grounds" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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