Elise’s mind is now at ease after fans’ threat

SCOTTISH speed skater Elise Christie has revealed how she turned to a psychologist to help cope with death threats. The 27-year-old was the victim of cyber bullying from enraged South Korean fans who deemed her guilty of causing a crash that robbed Park Seung-Hi of gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. But the Livingston-born short-track star admitted it took a full two years before she asked for help to deal with the aftermath. With next year’s Winter Olympics taking place in Pyeongchang in South Korea, newly-crowned triple world champion Christie is heading there in a much happier state of mind as Team GB’s top medal hope. ‘I have worked with someone on the mental side,’ admitted Christie. ‘Initially, I tried to deal with it all on my own. ‘But eventually, I had to ask for some help because I struggled with the fact my sport had led to death threats. Why has something I’ve loved since I was a kid led to that? ‘It took two years for me to ask. Ultimately, I felt that, if I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t unlock my full potential. ‘I was sick of going to World Championships and not winning.’ That changed in March when she won the 1,000m, 1,500m and overall gold at the World Championships in Rotterdam. And Christie has no fears about going to South Korea after a subsequent visit saw her mobbed by adoring fans. She added: ‘The next World Cup I went to there, I thought I’d get booed, but there were so many wanting to greet me. They felt embarrassed for the people who had done what they did to me.’