CHARLOTTE Gilmartin has made a confident start to the New Year with a strong performance at the British Short Track Championships at Nottingham’s National Ice Centre.

The country’s elite speed skaters compete alongside some of the best club competitors in the UK, in the annual event which is organised by the National Ice Skating Association (NISA).

While Gilmartin’s team-mate Elise Christie, who ended 2014 with two bronze medals at the World Cup in Seoul, was in fine form with victories in the 1,000m, 500m and 1,500m, Redditch’s Gilmartin was not far behind.

The 24-year-old was second in all three of those events, with Gemma Cooper third.

Gilmartin pushed Christie all the way in the finals of the 1,500m and 500m, finishing just 100ths of a seconds behind in runner-up spot.

The Junior squad also had a good weekend with Jennifer Pickering claiming the Junior Ladies National title in 500m and 1000m.

Fellow GB squad member, Jack Burrows showed great skill and talent this weekend claiming the National title in the 500m and 1000m in the Junior races.

Jack Whelbourne took the title in the men’s senior overall classification after finishing top in 1500m and finishing just behind Jon Eley in second place in 500m.

Eley was crowned National Senior Men’s 500m champion and also claimed gold in the 1000m closely followed by Murray Cochrane who took Silver. Farrell Treacy took bronze.

Performance director Stuart Horsepool said: “Elise and Charlotte skated very well. They have both been working on their technical track craft and they have shown how they have developed. They are two world level athletes who are constantly learning and pushing hard to be the best, and the British Championships is a good way to get them nailing down key skills that will help them get to the top.”

Now, she will be aiming to build on that success when she races in the ISU Star Class Competition taking place at Nottingham’s NIC this weekend.

Horsepool added: “The GB squad will compete again on home ice, but this time they will be racing at an international level.

“We have 3,000 local school children attending on Friday and the rest of the weekend’s racing is open to the public.”

Gilmartin has another big year with the European Championships in Holland at the end of the month.

The World Championships are in Moscow in March.