CHARLOTTE Gilmartin made a fine start to 2016 with a strong showing at the British Short Track Championships at the weekend.

The Redditch speed skater finished the tournament ranked second in the overall classification for the senior ladies behind Elise Christie.

Representing Mohawks Ice Racing Team, the 25-year-old was runner-up in the 1,500 metres, 1,000m and 500m.

She’s in action again this week in Nottingham in International Star Class Speed Skating competition, which sees some of the best talent from Western Europe compete together on the ice.

Mid-way between their international seasons, the competition will feature Olympic squad, GB Short Track.

Gilmartin is in fine form and secured her first major international accolade in December, taking 1,500m bronze in the World Cup event in Shanghai.

Competing in the first World Cup A final of her career, skated a tactically excellent race to finish with a time of two minutes and 33.411 seconds. Her toughest competition came from Choi Minjeong from Korea, and Tao Jiaying from China, first and second place respectively.

She said after her success in China: “I have been working hard on technique with my coach all season and reaching new personal bests throughout the year, so confidence has been building."