The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scot’s sights set on nothing but gold
Elise Christie is ready to reap the rewards from her new ‘gold or bust’ mentality as she prepares to lead a five-strong Great Britain short-track team into her third Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Christie launched a major overhaul of her racing style after her triple disqualification disappointment at Sochi 2014 and it paid off with three World Championship titles in Rotterdam earlier this year.
The 27-year-old Scot’s success has launched her on to this year’s shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award as well as making her a major medal favourite when the sport returns to its roots in South Korea in February.
Christie said: “I feel like the biggest thing for me since Sochi is that I have learned to accept failure, and that it is worthwhile taking the risks rather than settling for second best.
“To win a short-track race is totally different to medalling. I could sit at the front in a 500 metres race and more or less guarantee a medal every time, but if I did that I would be just as disappointed as if I went for the win and ended up with nothing.
“Pyeongchang is not about redemption for me – it is about winning.
“I owe everyone who has supported me, as well as myself, to give everything I’ve got to win the gold. It doesn’t mean I’m going to do it, but it means whatever happens I can come back with no regrets.”
Christie applied her newfound mentality in the World Championships this year and it paid off spectacularly with golds in both the 1000m and 1500m, as well as picking up the women’s overall title.
But her hunger for success was still not sated and she admitted she travelled home mulling over the mistakes which had cost her a fourth victory in her favoured 500m.
She added: “When I won the World Championships I still came away thinking, ‘Why didn’t I win the 500m?’ But that is just normal for me. I can see failures in everything I do.
“But I think that is what drives me on. Short-track is not the kind of sport which has prolific winners, so you have to be driven by something internal. I judge myself very heavily and that is what keeps propelling me forward.”
Christie’s desire for nothing less than victory does not extend to Sunday’s Sports Personality awards though.
She said: “Coming from such a small sport, and being a Winter Olympian, it feels amazing just to be nominated alongside the likes of Anthony Joshua. I’m just pleased I’ve done my bit to help put shorttrack on the map.”
Christie will be joined in Pyeongchang by fellow Sochi Olympian and World Cup medallist Charlotte Gilmartin, along with debutants Kathryn Thomson, Farrell Treacy and Joshua Cheetham.