Netherland's Suzanne Schulting is first - Charlotte Gilmartin is in a tussle for second with Australia's Deanna Lockett..

Short track looks really peaceful, right up until the bit where you have to start shoving your way through.

With seven laps to go, Charlotte Gilmartin is in fourth as the pace goes up a notch.

False start! Must be annoying.

Charlotte Gilmartin moves around and glides into the lead on the first lap.

Caroline Chapman
BBC Sport in Pyeongchang

As a relatively inexperienced skater Kat Thomson, in her first Games, was never expected to make waves here for GB. She was going really well in that heat and was battling for third but she slowed down massively on the final two laps.

Charlotte Gilmartin is in action in this third heat.

Gilmartin is competing in her second Games - she finished 28th in the 1500m in Sochi four years ago.

She claimed 3000m gold and overall silver at the 2016 European Championships, before adding 500m bronze to her collection a year later.

She competed in the 500m here in Pyeongchang, but was involved in a three-skater collision during her race.

Image source, Getty Images

The Olympic Athletes of Russia quartet are leading at the halfway point, with Charlotte Kalla having dragged Sweden back into medal contention during the second leg.

OAR reached halfway 1.7 seconds ahead of Sweden, with Finland 10.1 secs behind in third and fourth-placed Norway 29.8 secs back.

The skiers are now switching from the classic style to the freestyle technique for the last two legs.

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Brotherton
Commentator on BBC TV

Kathryn Thomson comes across the line in fifth place so she won't go through but that heat went on form really.

Oop - a stumble by Germany's Anna Seidel offers Thomson a way through, but she can't take it.

She finishes fourth in two minutes 32.891 seconds - the top three qualify from each heat for the semi-finals.

Six laps to go - Kathryn Thomson is in fifth as it stands.

Kathryn Thomson is the first Brit out on the ice today.

She won 500m silver at the 2013 European Youth Winter Olympics, and helped the British team to 3000m relay silver a year later.

She too competed in the 500m earlier in the week, but fell in her heat.

Image source, Getty Images

Caroline Chapman
BBC Sport in Pyeongchang

The noise when Sukhee Shim crashed after a collision with Bacskai was deafening. The Shrieks from the home crowd turned to cheers as they tried to will the South Korean on, but she had to settle for fifth.

There's a teensy bit of a delay after the first heat - the referees are having a brief tete a tete over a collision that has seen Hungary's Sara Luca Bacskai penalised.

Arianna Fontana, who won gold in the 500m, has qualified first in her heat.

Neil Schofield: Let’s (Mc) twist again! Skating song... (for those that know their half pipe tricks)

Pol: Well - never would’ve associated Mary Hopkins with ice hockey!

Caroline Chapman
BBC Sport in Pyeongchang

In case you need further proof of how brutal short track speed skating can be, here's a decent tale courtesy of our brilliant BBC researchers.

In 1992, Australian Steven Bradbury lost four litres of blood and needed 111 stitches after a rival’s skate ended up in his leg. He later broke his neck in a track crash. Ouch, ouch, ouch

But in 2002, he bounced back to win the 1000m final in Salt Lake City, in what is considered one of the sport's most legendary races.

Bradbury was trailing way off the pace in last place when a crash took out t the four skaters in front of him, leaving him to cruise over the line to claim gold.

It was worth all the blood-loss and broken bones in the end.

Image source, get

Graham Bell
Five-time Olympic skier on BBC TV

What Ester Ledecka does is she trains three weeks alpine skiing, then three weeks snowboarding, and she has done that her entire career.

She didn't want to give either up because she loved it so much. It is a massive shock because she has never even placed on a World Cup podium!

To do two completely different sports is incredible. But Ledecka does say that because she is carving on a snowboard it helps with her alpine skiing.

You made it? Excellent.

Just five minutes to go before the first Brit in today's heats gets under way.

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Marit Bjorgen took silver in the skiathlon to become the most decorated female Winter Olympian of all time. She hopes for a 13th medal in the Norwegian quartet, led by Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg in the first leg

Image source, Getty Images

Caroline Chapman
BBC Sport in Pyeongchang

There are six heats in the women's 1500m and the top three from each round go through to the semi-finals, which start at 11:13 GMT.

Britain's Kathryn Thomson goes in heat two, followed by Charlotte Gilmartin in heat three, with world champion Elise Christie in heat five. The defending Olympic champion over this distance, China's Zhou Yang, is also in Christie's heat.

Image source, Getty Images

Wilf O’Reilly MBE
Former British short track speed skater on BBC TV

The atmosphere in the arena is electric!

Elise Christie just wants to get in there and get a medal. It was nice to see her so relaxed the day after the fall.

She was really down in Sochi but 24 hours later after such a devastating evening here, she was upbeat and that will be good for her.

I think it's all very positive for Elise Christie.

Image source, Getty Images