Rob Mitchell

Rob Mitchell had three successful speed skating careers, at the junior, senior, and masters levels. He first took an interest in the sport at the age of seven after watching leading racers taking part in an event in Scotland. He subsequently joined the Peterborough Ice Racing Club and at the age of 13 in 1986 won the East of England Junior Championship. He retained the title the following year, and in 1988 won an international event at Den Haag at the age of 15.

A Birmingham University medical student, Mitchell joined the Mohawks Ice Racing Club in Solihull after moving to the West Midlands, and became part of the Great Britain squad in 1993. Two years later he was part of the successful 5,000 metres relay squad that won three European titles and set a 5,000 world record of 7:09.54 in 1996. Accompanying Mitchell that day were Nicky Gooch, Matt Jasper, and Wilf O’Reilly. Between 1996-98, Mitchell took a two-year sabbatical from university to concentrate on getting onto the Olympic squad. He did go to the Nagano Winter Games and finished 7th with the GB relay squad. The following September, Mitchell returned to university to complete the final three years of his studying and eventually qualified as a doctor.

Mitchell continued speed skating and enjoyed success in Masters events. In 2017 he won the World Masters outdoor long track title, the British Masters, and also the 500 and 5000 titles at the Dutch Masters. He retained his British title in 2018. Mitchell’s last competition was at Heerenveen, Netherlands in March 2020 at age of 48. Mitchell’s brother Graeme was also a competitive speed skater, and member of the Peterborough club. The siblings competed against each other at the 1986 British Championships.