Nottinghamshire’s Winter Olympic hopefuls get the thumbs up from local authority

Nottinghamshire County Council has added its best wishes to local athletes who are to take part in The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
Elise ChristieElise Christie
Elise Christie

There is special interest as one of the brightest medal hopefuls is short track skater, Elise Christie, who was recently named as Nottinghamshire’s Sportsperson of the Year.

The annual sports awards, organised by Nottinghamshire County Council and Sport Nottinghamshire, took place on 20th January as a real celebration of grassroots and professional sports in the county, at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham.

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Elise spoke about her hopes for the Winter Games in a video address when she received her award from Nottinghamshire County Council Chairman Councillor John Allin.

She said: “I am really grateful and thankful that I have got such an amazing award. I have put in a lot of hard work and hopefully I will come back from Sochi with some good news for everyone so thanks for the support.”

The skater, who is based in Nottingham, recently retained her European 1,000m title in her last competition before the Winter Olympics. She won the world bronze over 1,000m last year and is considered a real medal hope at the Games which start today.

The opening ceremony for the XXII Winter Olympics starts in the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi this afternoon.

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Nottinghamshire County Council is also keeping a close eye on the progress of ice dancer Penny Coombs, who is supported by the county council’s Shining Stars Fund.

Penny together with partner Nicholas Buckland, is the 2014 European bronze medallist and has won six other international medals. They have been British National Champions for the last three years and also competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Nottinghamshire County Council Culture Committee Chairman Councillor John Knight said: “We are looking forward to what we hope will be a memorable Winter Olympics for the Great British team and also for all of our local athletes – we will also be keenly following the progress of Penny and Elise.

“Their experiences at the Winter Olympics will also generate great inspiration for any young person interested in taking part in winter sports.”

View the video of Elise’s awards presentation on Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWs7HRWtBIY