The 21-year-old secured gold in the women's 1,000m race, ahead of China's Liu Quihong and Yui Sakai of Japan.

Having recorded an impressive race time of one minute 31.211 seconds, Christie finished on the podium for the third time this season, following silver medals in Japan and Canada.

"I am really happy that my determination and hard work paid off. Such an amazing feeling," Christie said on Twitter.

Elsewhere, former Loughborough College students Jack Whelbourne and Jon Eley won silver and bronze respectively at the European Championships.

Whelbourne finished ahead of Eley in the men’s 500m final, staged in the Czech city of Mlada Boleslav at the beginning of February.

In March, the skaters head to China for the World Championships.

By Stuart Appleby