Ellia Smeding hopes to inspire a new generation of “control freaks” as she prepares to become the first female long-track speed-skater for 42 years to represent Great Britain at an Olympic Games.
The last British long-tracker to grace the Olympic Oval was Craig McNicoll in 1992, and the women go further back with Kim Ferran and Mandy Horsepool at Lake Placid in 1980, where Robin Cousins reigned supreme and Torvill and Dean were inexperienced also-rans.
