Jack Whelbourne calls time on short track speed skating career

A skater since the age of six, Whelbourne competed at his first Winter Olympic Games at Vancouver 2010 before becoming junior world 1000m champion 12 months later.

That same year saw him help the Great Britain relay team set what was then a new world record of 6.37.877 in the 5000m while in 2014 he appeared at his second Games in Sochi, becoming the first British skater to reach the 1500m final at a winter Olympics.

The 24-year-old has however decided to hang up his skates to concentrate on developing a business away from the sport and also return to playing rugby.

"I will never fall out of love with short track, it's unpredictable, fast and unique. I've been lucky to be able to do something I enjoy for so long. I have given it my all and am proud to have achieved so much as a junior and senior," he said.

"Being a full time athlete has taken its toll on my body, I've always been able to bounce back, but I've been competing and training at a high level for a long time now, and I feel it's the right time for me to step away.

"I'll keep supporting the short track team all the way, and I'll be back playing rugby again, but for now, for enjoyment, and who knows after that. I was always good as a junior on the wing and outside centre. I am creative and want to put my focus into that skill set now."

Whelbourne's last few years on the ice have been disrupted by injury, including picking up a slipped disc in 2015 which kept him out for almost four months, while he suffered from severe leg bruising soon after his return.

Despite this he did recover to finish ninth overall in the 2015/2016 year-ending World Championships in South Korea this March.

And in spite of the injuries Whelbourne, a member of the GB Short Track Speed Skating squad for over ten years, insisted he will still have plenty of fond memories, most notably etching his name into the record books.

"The highlight of my career has to be being part of the world record breaking relay team, I was part of a team who were David to the Goliath's of the likes of Korea, China and Canada," he added.

"My teammates, Jon Eley, Paul Stanley and Richard Shoebridge were a massive inspiration to me, and they, and the other guys in the squad at the time, were vital for training sessions back at home and set the standard for me to beat." Sportsbeat 2016