The British speedskater who tripped, busted her ankle, and was disqualified in pursuit of 3 gold medals says 'it wasn't meant to be'

A British speedskater's 2018 Winter Olympics is over.
Elise Christie was disqualified in her 1,000-meter short-track heat on Tuesday. She crashed out of her two previous events, injuring her ankle on Saturday.
Her Sochi Games followed a similar pattern of disappointment four years ago.
But the athlete is determined to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

A British speedskater says "it just wasn't meant to be" after suffering misery in pursuit of gold.

Elise Christie was one of Great Britain's medal hopes heading into the 2018 Winter Olympics. As a reigning world champion in the 1,500- and 1,000-meter short-track events, she was viewed as a contender for multiple medals in South Korea.

But her dreams are in tatters after she was disqualified in her 1,000-meter short-track heat on Tuesday. Carrying a nasty ankle injury from her previous event, she finished her heat in second but was handed a yellow card after the judges deemed that she was guilty of two infringements.

It follows the dramatic crash in her 1,500-meter semifinal on Saturday, during which she damaged her right ankle ligaments. Christie also skidded out of the 500-meter final on Tuesday last week, when she was thrown off balance by Yara van Kerkhof, her Dutch rival.

Speedskating is sometimes described as a brutal sport, and Christie is certainly evidence of this. It is the second Winter Olympics in a row that has ended in disaster for the British athlete after she failed to land a medal in similar circumstances in Sochi, Russia, four years ago.

Of the six Winter Olympics events Christie has competed in since the Sochi Games in 2014, she has been disqualified from four and crashed out of the other two.

"It just wasn't meant to be... @ BBC Sport

"I have so much belief in the program and in myself," Christie told the BBC on Tuesday. "It wasn't through a lack of capability — it was just short track. It just wasn't meant to be this time."

But Christie vowed to return: "I promise Britain I will fight back from this and I will come back in Beijing [in 2022] and hopefully I can do Britain proud then."

The British speedskater who tripped, busted her ankle, and was disqualified in pursuit of 3 gold medals says 'it wasn't meant to be'

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