Christine Nesbitt captures bronze at Sochi event By QMI Agency

Christine Nesbitt of Canada competes during the women's 1000m event at the Essent ISU World Single Distances Championships 2013 in Sochi March 23, 2013. (REUTERS/Grigory Dukor)

Christine Nesbitt of London, Ont. won a bronze medal at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships in Sochi, Russia Friday.

Nesbitt skated in the second-to-last pairing with eventual gold medallist, and new world champion, Ireen Wust of the Netherlands, posting a time of 1:58.07.

Wust skated to a 1:55.38 time while her Dutch teammate, Lotte van Beek, grabbed silver with a time of 1:58.02.

"I was surprised to come away with a bronze medal. It wasn't the greatest race of my life," Nesbitt said. "I felt like I was lacking snap. I felt like a slug, for lack of better term. At no point in my race was I really feeling explosive and powerful and dynamic in my movements.

"But, it was good enough today for a bronze medal," she added. "So that's kind of the silver lining — that even with a bad race I can still medal."

Nesbitt’s teammates Kali Christ and Brittany Schussler also finished in the top 10 in fifth and eighth, respectively.