I’m getting back in shape for the next Games ... after three months of eating cookies
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Livingston short-track speed skater Elise Christie has targeted a place at the 2026 Winter Olympics – just three months after retiring from the sport.
The 31-year-old called time on her incredible career in December when it became apparent that injury would cost her a trip to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
But speaking to the BBC, she admitted that she has caught the bug for the sport once again and is aiming to qualify for the next Games, which will be staged in Milan.
Christie, who has spent her professional career based in Nottingham, has made three Winter Olympics appearances and missed out on medals in both the 2014 and 2018 following controversial incidents.
A three-time world champion and 10-time European champion, Christie admitted that it would be a tough ask to qualify for Milan, but says she will “do everything I can” to make it to a fourth Games.
She said: “Watching the 500m event the other day, I have made a vow that I’m going to do everything I can to try to get back out at the next one.
“I’m not going to be skating the 1500m, though. That’s a promise.”
She added: “It’s not going to be easy and it’s not something I can say that I’ll definitely be able to do because I don’t have the financial backing to do it at the minute.”
Christie is already considering her training options and the logistics involved and added: “If I were to try to do it again, I’d still skate for Britain but try to do it training somewhere else and only focusing on the sprint distances.
“We’re going to have to be going abroad, realistically, and then self-funding and figuring all that out.
So I need some time to do that. But I’m going to start getting back into shape. I’ve had three months of eating cookies!”
Announcing her retirement in December, the former James Young High School pupil said she “changed this sport” in the UK.
In 2017, she became the first European woman to win the overall gold at the World Championships, where she also clinched the 500m and 1000m titles in the highlight moment of her illustrious career.
She said: “I changed this sport in this country. I defied odds, never made excuses for having less than my opponents, and I walk away with over 70 World Cup/European and world championship medals, and a fourth place at the Olympics.
“Only three of those medals are in team events. I also broke a world record.”
It appears the story of one of West Lothian’s most successful athletes isn’t over just yet.
Watching the 500m event, I have made a vow that I’m going to try everything I can to try to get back out at the next one [Games]. It’s not going to be easy and it’s not something that I can say that I’ll definitely be able to do Elise Christie