FROM ICE.. TO SLICE
Speed skater works in pizza joint to pay for Olympic bid
GREAT Britain speed skater Elise Christie has been spotted working at Pizza Hut to raise cash to support her bid to take part in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The 30-year-old previously revealed she was juggling several jobs while training after speed skating and figure skating teams lost their funding for the games which will take place in Beijing, China. The Scot, who has previously spoken about her struggle with depression, earlier said winning a medal in Beijing would be the perfect way to call time on her career. Elise had high hopes of gaining medals in the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics but a series of collisions and crashes put paid to her ambitions. In 2018, she crashed out in the 500m and 1500m events. In the 1000m heat she crashed at the first corner causing the race to be restarted. Judges finally disqualified her from the event following two separate collision incidents.
Elise also revealed that she had suffered from depression and anxiety over a two-year period.
She told the BBC: “Everything’s aimed towards [a medal in Beijing], taking it one step at a time and really working hard on weaknesses from the last Games.
“While I’m still in the limelight, I’m trying to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health, that’s a big goal of mine.”
Winter Olympians suffered an £8million funding cut in 2018, despite delivering the nation’s best medal haul in Pyeongchang, South Korea, earlier that year. BIG NIGHT Elise at awards bash