18 Feb 2010

New Zealand speed skater into Olympic quarterfinal

6:59 pm on 18 February 2010

A collision in the men's short track speed skating heats has helped New Zealand's Blake Skjellerup advance to the 1000 metre quarterfinals at the Olympics in Vancouver.

The skaters coming second and third fell after colliding and falling on the final turn of the race and, leaving Skjellerup to claim the second qualifying spot for his heat.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's men's snowboarders have been eliminated from the Olympic halfpipe competition after failing to make the top nine in their respective heats.

James Hamilton just missed the cut, finishing tenth in the first heat, while Mitch Brown was unable to complete a clean run in the second and finished 18th.

Cross country skier Katie Calder also failed to qualify for the next round of her Olympic sprint competition, finishing 47th.