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, where Robin Cousins reigned supreme and Torvill and Dean were inexperienced also-rans.

The 23-year-old Smeding said it never crossed her mind to pursue the more available route into the unpredictable world of short-track, with which the nation is more readily associated.

Smeding said: “I’m a bit of a control freak, and the difference in short-track is you’re racing in a pack, we all know it’s quite prone to crashes and disqualifications, and you just don’t know what’s going to happen.

“You could be in your best shape possible and have the worst luck. With long-track it’s a time-trial. You could still do something silly and get disqualified, but the chances are really low.

“I like that if you skate well and you have a good execution of the race, that means you will put down a really good result.”