Ellia Smeding (born 16 March 1998) is a British long track

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

. She competed at the

2020 European Speed Skating Championships The 2020 European Speed Skating Championships were held from 10 to 12 January 2020 at the Thialf in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Schedule ''All times are local (UTC+1).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events Refe ...

in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Racing in the

1000 meters The 1000 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. The 1000 yards, an imperial alternative, was sometimes also contested. All-time top 25 *h = hand timed *i = indoor performance *A = affected by ...

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

, and mass start events, she placed 14th, 18th, and 16th respectively. She participated in the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beij ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, becoming the first female long track speed skater to represent

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at the Olympics since

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

. At the

2023 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships The 2023 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships were held from 2 to 5 March 2023, at Thialf in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Schedule ''All times are local (UTC+1 UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ...

, she finished 8th in the

and 11th in the

events. She holds personal bests of 1:14.47 in the 1000 meters and 1:57.62 in the 1500 meters.

Personal life

Born in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England, Smeding spent her early childhood in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

before her family temporarily moved to the Netherlands (her father is Dutch, her mother English) so the children could learn Dutch. They stayed there, and Smeding, already into rollerblading, acquired a passion for speed skating. She is in a relationship with fellow British-Dutch Olympic speed skater

Cornelius Kersten Cornelius Kersten (born July 19, 1994) is a British speed skater who represented Great Britain at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Career At the 2023 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships, Kersten won a bronze medal in the 1000 metres ...

; based in Heerenveen, the couple have a coffee brewing business which helps to fund their sporting lives.

References

External links

*
Ellia Smeding at ISU
1998 births Living people British female speed skaters Speed skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skaters for Great Britain British people of Dutch descent Sportspeople from Aylesbury Sportspeople from Oxfordshire English emigrants to the Netherlands Sportspeople from Leeuwarden {{UK-speed-skating-bio-stub