Following medical advice, Great Britain ice hockey player, Sam Ellis, has been withdrawn from competition at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Fifteen-year-old Harry Thomas from Cardiff has been selected under the Late Athlete Replacement (LAR) policy and has joined the team in Gangwon ahead of their first match on Saturday.
Team GB’s Chef de Mission, Eve Muirhead, said: “As an athlete, I know how Sam will be feeling right now but the full delegation are behind him. We’re delighted to now have Harry as part of the team and will be cheering the boys on.”
GB Head Coach, Danny Meyers, said: “We’re devastated for Sam that he won’t be able to compete in the games. H is the sort of kid who has overcome challenges before and I have no doubt he will overcome this.
“We are fortunate to be able to bring Harry in who was very unlucky to miss out in the first place. We had a strong goalie pool to choose from in the first place and so once we got down to our final five, there really wasn’t a lot to choose between them all.
“Harry will get a session in before the first game and then he will get the start of the second day of games. The coaching have zero worries about putting Harry in and know he will come with some extra fire.”
GB’s first game in the tournament is on Saturday when they face Austria.
Great Britain schedule
Saturday 20th January – Game 1 v Austria – Face-off 12noon (3am UK time)
Sunday 21st January – Game 2 v Latvia – Face-off 9am (Midnight UK time)
Sunday 21st January – Game 3 v Denmark – Face-off 4pm (7am UK time)
Monday 22nd January – Game 4 v Poland – Face-off 10:30am (1:30am UK time)
Monday 22nd January – Game 5 v Spain – Face-off 5:30pm ( 8:30am UK time)
Tuesday 23rd January – Game 6 v Chinese Taipei – Face-off 9am (Midnight UK time)
Tuesday 23rd January – Game 7 v Kazakhstan – Face-off 5:30pm (8:30am UK time)
Wednesday 24th January – Semi-finals
Thursday 25th January – Final