The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Christie still has sights on Olympic gold
Scottish speed skater looks to Beijing 2022
Elise Christie isn’t giving up on her Olympic dream, vowing to finally claim that elusive medal in Beijing.
After the disappointments of Sochi and now Pyeongchang – falls, disqualifications and injuries – the 27-year-old Scot could be forgiven for wanting to do something else.
But three-times world champion Christie admits she still has unfinished business.
“I’ll be back in Beijing. For all the success I’ve had, I can’t let this define me,” she said.
“I’m going to get myself so strong that I’ll get out in front and get away from everyone and that’ll be the focus now.
“I wanted to bring it home for Br it ain,i could sense the support of the nation all the way from here.
After falling and finishing fourth in the 500m final, she fell again and was disqualified in the 1,500m, injuring her right ankle.
She hobbled to the start line for yesterday’s 1,000m – her favourite event – but was sent spinning into the barriers at the very first corner.
Elise Christie exited in spectacular fashion in Pyeongchang yesterday after a first-bend crash and what was effectively a double disqualification, but insisted her Olympic dream is far from over.
The 27-year-old’s desperate bid to make the start-line for her final and favoured 1,000m event backfired when a trip-up in the opening strides of her heat sent her flailing to the ice and aggravated the ankle ligaments she had torn in her equally distressing 1,500m exit on Saturday night.
Clearly in some degree of discomfort and in no real position to continue to compete, Christie nevertheless dragged herself back to the line in time to benefit from the short-track rule which stipulates that first-corner crashes must lead to a restart.
Unable to put any real pressure on her injured ankle, Christie set off well behind her three rivals but still battled through to cross the line in a qualifying position of second, only to be given a yellow card from the race jury – indicating not one but two fouls – and was eliminated from the games.
“It’s been such a tough two days to turn this around, I’ve got ligament damage and my ankle has doubled in size,” said Christie. “I gave it my best shot and I obviously had a crash at the start.
“I hit my ankle and at that point I thought, ‘oh no, that’s over, I’m not going to be able to race now’. I can’t describe the pain I was in.
“But I was given a moment to stand there and I was thinking about everyone watching back home. I just felt I should give it a go for them.”
Yet even in the immediate aftermath of another Olympics calamity, Christie committed herself to a fourth shot at the Olympics in Beijing in four years’ time, maintaining nothing that happened in Pyeongchang would dissuade her from pursuing that golden career goal.
“For all the success I’ve had, I can’t let this define me. I can’t even count on two hands how many gold medals I’ve won since Sochi. I’m the world record holder.
“That’s why I’ll be back in Beijing (in 2022). I wanted to try another sport but I’ll commit to this one a bit longer. It sucks but that’s it now.”
“I’m going to get myself so strong that I’ll get out in front and get away from everyone and that will be the focus now.”
Christie’s participation in her third and final event had been in doubt until moments before the start, but she battled gamely to make the most of her sec- ond chance despite being uncharacteristically forced to fight from the rear.
Christie came to Pyeongchang as a triple world champion desperate to atone for a nightmare series of events in Sochi four years ago when she was disqualified from all three of her races.
But her experience in Pyeongchang was destined to become even worse.
Knocked down in her 500m final on the opening Saturday, Christie swiftly refocused on the 1,500m which ended in her sliding calamitously into the barriers on the final bend of her semi-final.
A defiant Christie insisted she is determined not to allow a repeat of her postsochi turmoil, when chronic self-doubts and social media death threats had briefly threatened to turn her away from the sport she loves for good.
Charlotte Gilmartin and Kathryn Thomson also failed to advance to tomorrow’s knockout rounds.