Whelbourne, who took part in the Vancouver Olympics as a 16-year-old, won all his qualifying rounds on the first day of competition at the ISU World Junior Championships before losing out on the title to a Korean opponent by the margin of 0.18sec.

"I am satisfied with my performance." said Whelbourne, who will compete at the senior ISU World Championships at Sheffield's Motorpoint Arena from March 11-13.

"It is one step better that my result last year and I know I am improving my performance and tactics with every race at World level.

"I am very much looking forward to the next two days of competition and the Senior World Championship on home soil in Sheffield in two weeks' time."

Day one concluded with the men's 3,000m relay heats, in which Whelbourne and his team mates Josh Cheetham, Billy Simms and Murray Cochrane qualified for the semi-finals, where they will face teams from Korea, Kazakhstan and the United States.

Tickets for the world championships in Sheffield can be obtained through the event website by clicking here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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