Daily Mirror

I tried to run away from him I just couldn’t

Skater Elise reveals drug rape horror

- BY JEREMY ARMSTRONG jeremy.armstrong@mirror.co.uk @jeremyatmi­rror

Whenever I fell on the floor, he picked me up and dragged me

EXCLUSIVE TRIPLE world champion speed skater Elise Christie has revealed she was raped when she was 19.

Elise, now 31, believes her drink was spiked before the attack.

She said she kept trying to run away from the man but could not go more than one step without falling over.

In her autobiogra­phy, Resilience, which is published today, the British star says: “I went out, got drugged and then got raped by some random bloke.

“It was a year before I told anyone at all about that night.”

She adds: “I was strangely impaired and my body wasn’t functionin­g properly.

“I tried to run away from him but I simply couldn’t run. I was falling on the ground after every other step...

“Even in situations when I’ve been absolutely wasted since, I’ve never felt like I did that night. As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t get away from this guy.

“Whenever I fell on the floor, he kept running after me, picking me up and dragging me, eventually into [a] taxi.

“I remember – through the brain fog – saying to the taxi driver, ‘Please don’t take me to this guy’s house. You’ve got to take me home’.

“But the rapist was telling the taxi driver, ‘She’s my girlfriend. She’s drunk’. “At the end of this taxi journey this guy took me into his house. It was clear he was going to sexually assault me and I was repeatedly telling him, ‘No. No’.” Elise initially thought she could not say she had been raped as she had not been “grabbed in a park, battered... left for dead”. She adds: “I felt ashamed, which I now know is completely the wrong way to feel about this.” She says her attacker contacted her via Facebook to apologise. Elise never went to the police, adding: “It’s too late I guess. I should have been braver.” She was raped after meeting the man in a bar in Nottingham city centre. Elise has three world championsh­ip golds, but crashes, disqualifi­cations and injury have stopped her winning an Olympic medal.

Training for the 2022 Winter Games, she has battled back after mental health issues, online abuse and death threats. Elise Christie: Resilience, published by Reach Sport, is out today. Save 25% from reachsport­shop.com.

ELISE CHRISTIE ON BEING DRUGGED BEFORE ATTACK

 ?? ?? PAIN In tears after crash at 2018 Games
SPORT STAR Elise has written a new book
RACE Elise at Winter Olympics in 2018
PAIN In tears after crash at 2018 Games SPORT STAR Elise has written a new book RACE Elise at Winter Olympics in 2018

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