Elise Christie '˜thankful' for support following Olympics heartbreak

Team GB speed skater Elise Christie has thanked her supporters on social media following her difficult Winter Olympics.
Great Britain's Elise Christie trips at the start of the Ladies' Short Track Speed Skating 1000m Heat 5. Picture; PAGreat Britain's Elise Christie trips at the start of the Ladies' Short Track Speed Skating 1000m Heat 5. Picture; PA
Great Britain's Elise Christie trips at the start of the Ladies' Short Track Speed Skating 1000m Heat 5. Picture; PA

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And the Livingston-born world number one has tugged at the heartstrings of the nation during the games which ended when her final attempt to win a Winter Olympics medal ending in failure in the 1,000m.

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She admitted that she knew deep down that it would be difficult to get a medal in her final event after suffering a nasty fall in her second event at the Games.

Writing on Twitter, she said: “Sometimes your heart needs more time to accept what your brain already knows.

“I’ve been asked many times why I wanted to skate with my ankle the way it was, I wasn’t ready to let go, the reality was that with my ankle the way it was medalling was unlikely, but my heart held onto that little bit of hope.

“And I wanted to inspire people never to give up.

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Elise Christie falls in the women's 1,000m short track speed skating heat event. Picture; GettyElise Christie falls in the women's 1,000m short track speed skating heat event. Picture; Getty
Elise Christie falls in the women's 1,000m short track speed skating heat event. Picture; Getty

“I’m sorry it didn’t end the way we all hoped and I’m thankful for every message of support and every person that’s taken time out to tell me I’ve inspired them.

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“Thanks also to my fellow athletes that came up to say they respect me yesterday.

“Can’t thank them enough! Thank you”

Despite her second consecutive calamitous Games, which came to an end when she was double-disqualified from the 1500m heats on Tuesday, the 27-year-old has already committed to pursuing belated glory in 2022.

Elise Christie falls in the women's 1,000m short track speed skating heat event. Picture; GettyElise Christie falls in the women's 1,000m short track speed skating heat event. Picture; Getty
Elise Christie falls in the women's 1,000m short track speed skating heat event. Picture; Getty

GB short track’s performance director Stewart Laing backed Christie’s stance which came moments after she hobbled off the ice after finding her fate sealed by the post-race jury.

Laing said: “It is great from my perspective. Elise has got huge potential and she is currently the world number one.

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“We will go back and she will potentially take some time off and give her body a rest.

“Four years of an Olympic cycle is hard given how she trains and how dedicated she is, so she will do that and then focus on Beijing.

“From a performance director’s perspective, an athlete saying they want to continue is a fantastic thing to hear.”

Christie has found her racing style questioned by some after her second consecutive Olympics nightmare, with triple disqualification from her second Games in Sochi four years ago followed by another tale of woe in Pyeongchang.

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After being knocked down in the 500m final on the Games’ opening weekend, it was Christie’s error which saw her slide into the barriers in the 1500m semi-final and sustain the ankle injury which effectively ended her Games.

Clearly struggling, Christie picked herself up from a first-bend crash to muscle through the field on the re-start of her 1000m heat, only to pick up a yellow card for two disqualification offences from the judges.

Laing added: “Elise is hugely powerful and you can see that from the fact she holds the 500m world record.

“This is a sport of tactics and overtaking, and one of the things we have worked really hard on with Elise is being able to have that power with the overtaking.

“For Beijing what I would like to see with Elise is that she has the ability to race from any position on the track.”