It was Debbie Palmer's third Winter Olympics, but she did not get the chance to compete this time as she stayed a reserve.

She competed in Albertville in 1992 and Lillehammer in 94 but was not present in Nagano four years ago.

Palmer has been the National Champion 10 times and was the 3000m European Champion in 1995.

At world level, she finished fourth in the 1500m in the 1996 World Championships.

She also played ice hockey for the Great Britain Ladies team between 1991 and 2001.