Sky Scholar Elise Christie wins three gold medals at World Short Track Championships
By Charlotte Bates
Last Updated: 13/03/17 3:46pm
Elise Christie became a triple world champion after victory in the 1000m, 1500m and the overall title at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Rotterdam.
The Sky Academy Sports Scholar became the first British woman to win a world title on Saturday after winning the women's 1500m final with a time of 2 minutes 54.367 seconds.
And on Sunday the 26-year-old from Livingston stormed to her second gold in the 1000m, seeing off close rivals Marianne St-Gelais of Canada and Holland's Suzanne Schulting.
She also added a bronze medal to her tally in the 3000m and finished fourth in the 500m event, which was enough to see her win the overall title and complete a golden treble.
The Scot had previously won eight world championship medals but never gold. Her titles mark an impressive resurgence after enduring a difficult Winter Games in Sochi two years ago where she was disqualified from all three of her races.
"This year I have really changed my mindset, it was win or lose," Christie said.
"I risked losing to win, taking each distance one at a time this weekend. I have been physically capable for a long time, and I have shown I am mentally ready now.
"I was mainly focused on the 1000m, so winning the 1500m was a bonus for me, as I haven't raced that distance in so long. I don't think my competitors would have expected that either.
"I am ecstatic. The overall title wasn't in my mind at the beginning. Staying back while the European Championships was happening in January paid off, I stayed in Nottingham and trained with recently-retired Richard Shoebridge.
"I worked hard and got a lot of laps in which definitely helped in the longer distances this weekend."
Livingston speed skater Christie is building up for next year's 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Stewart Laing, GB Performance Director, added: "What Elise has achieved is extremely significant in the sport of short track for Great Britain.
"It follows years of dedication from Elise as an athlete, as well as the coaching and support team behind her.
"We are extremely proud of Elise and everything she has achieved this season, she has exceeded our expectations with the world record, multiple world cup medals and now the pinnacle, the World Championships."
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