The 31-year-old short-track speed skater announced her retirement in December but now may look to self-fund a competitive return for the 2026 Winter Olympics; she is a 10-time European gold medallist, including two overall European titles in 2015 and 2016, but has not won an Olympic medal
Wednesday 16 February 2022 15:28, UK
Great Britain's Elise Christie has vowed to do everything she can to return to competitive speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Christie announced her retirement from short track in December, just two weeks after her bid to qualify for the ongoing Games in Beijing effectively came to an end.
The 31-year-old is a 10-time European gold medallist, including two overall European titles in 2015 and 2016. She secured three world titles in Rotterdam in 2017 and became both the first British and European woman to do so.
In total, Christie won four world silver and five bronze medals, however she never claimed an Olympic medal.
Christie crashed out of all three of her races at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and said at the time of her retirement that "part of my heart will always be missing" having failed to crown her career with an Olympic medal.
Asked on Wednesday if she had made peace with the Olympics, Christie told BBC Sport: "No, I thought I had.
"Watching the 500 metres event the other day, I made a vow I'm going to do everything I can to try to get back out at the next one.
"It's not going to be easy and it's not something I can say I'll definitely be able to do because I don't have the financial backing to do it at the minute," she noted.
"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."
Christie indicated that she would look towards her former teammate - the three-time Olympian Sarah Lindsay - to help get back into shape for competition.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Milano and Cortina in Italy.
