Team GB’s Niall Treacy suffered his third crash in as many short track speed skating events as his Winter Olympics ended when he failed to progress from the 500m heats.
The only British representative in short track, Treacy surprisingly reached the 1500m final on Saturday but crashed out and then also fell in the 1,000m heats.
The 25-year-old says the shortest distance is his least favourite, declaring himself to be “not a natural sprinter”.
Treacy had a wobbly start as he was clipped on the opening corner by South Korea’s Rim Jong-un – an 18-year-old high school student who won bronze in the 1,000m – to require a restart.
But there was no reprieve for Treacy, as he skidded out midway through the full race under no pressure.
It ends British interest in short track, and the sport has struggled since losing £4.8m in UK Sport funding after failing to win a medal at PyeongChang 2018.
GB sent a team of five to short track events eight years ago – but that is down to one in Milan.
Dutchman Jens van’T Wout, who has already won both the 1,000m and 1500m, remains in the hunt for a golden treble after avoiding a mass pile-up to win his heat.
The remainder of the 500m competition – with two further knock-out rounds before the final – takes place on Tuesday.
