Elise Christie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Elise Christie

Personal information
Born	(1990-08-13) 13 August 1990 (age 35) Livingston, Scotland
Height	1.60 m
Weight	54 kg
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Sport	Short track speed skating
Club	Forth Valley
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	500 m: 42.335 1000 m: 1:28.723 1500 m: 2:18.696 3000 m: 5:05.419
Medal record World Championships Gold 2017 Rotterdam Overall Gold 2017 Rotterdam 1000 m Gold 2017 Rotterdam 1500 m Silver 2014 Montreal 500 m Silver 2015 Moscow 500 m Silver 2015 Moscow 1000 m Silver 2016 Seoul 1000 m Bronze 2013 Debrecen 1000 m Bronze 2016 Seoul Overall Bronze 2016 Seoul 1500 m Bronze 2016 Seoul 3000 m Bronze 2017 Rotterdam 3000 m European Championships Gold 2013 Malmo 1500 m Gold 2013 Malmo 1000 m Gold 2014 Dresden 1500 m Gold 2015 Dordrecht Overall Gold 2015 Dordrecht 500 m Gold 2015 Dordrecht 1500 m Gold 2016 Sochi Overall Gold 2016 Sochi 1500 m Gold 2016 Sochi 1000 m Gold 2016 Sochi 500 m Silver 2010 Dresden 1500 m Silver 2010 Dresden 3000 m Silver 2013 Malmo Overall Silver 2014 Dresden Overall Silver 2014 Dresden Relay Silver 2015 Dordrecht 3000 m Silver 2019 Dordrecht 1500 m Bronze 2010 Dresden Overall

Elise Christie is a famous British short track speed skater. She was born on August 13, 1990. Elise was coached by Nicky Gooch and was especially good at the 1000m race. She won many gold medals at European championships, including two overall titles in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, she made history at the World Championships in Rotterdam. She won gold medals in the 1000m and 1500m events, plus the overall gold. This made her the first British woman and first European woman to achieve such a big win!

Early Life and Skating Journey

Elise Christie was born in Livingston, Scotland, in 1990. She went to school at St Margaret's Academy in Livingston. Later, she studied at Loughborough College as part of a special sports program.

Elise started out as a figure skater. But when she was about twelve, she switched to speed skating. By age fifteen, she decided to focus completely on speed skating. She moved to Nottingham to train full-time at the National Ice Centre. She said she preferred speed skating because "the first over the line, wins the race," unlike figure skating which has judges.

Elise Christie's Sporting Career

European Championships Success

Elise Christie had a lot of success at the European Championships.

• In 2010, at the championships in Dresden, Germany, she won silver medals in the 1500m and 3000m races. She also earned an overall bronze medal.
• At the 2013 European Championships in Malmö, Sweden, Elise won gold in both the 1500m and 1000m events. She took home the overall silver medal.
• She won the 1000m title again in 2014 in Dresden. She also got a silver medal with the British team in the 3000m relay.
• In 2015, she won her first overall European title at the championships in Dordrecht, Netherlands. She won gold in the 500m and 1500m, and silver in the 3000m.
• Elise kept her overall European title in 2016 at the championships in Sochi, Russia. She won gold medals in the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m events.
• She did not compete in the 2017 European Championships. She was busy training for the World Championships that year.

World Championships Achievements

Elise also shined at the World Championships.

• In 2013, at the championships in Debrecen, Hungary, she won a bronze medal in the 1000m. She was also the 1000m champion for the 2012–13 World Cup season.
• At the 2014 World Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Elise won a silver medal in the 500m.
• In 2015, in Moscow, Russia, she earned two silver medals in the 500m and 1000m. She was the first British skater to win two medals at a World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.
• At the 2016 World Championships in Seoul, South Korea, Elise won four medals! She got bronze in the 1500m, silver in the 1000m, and bronze in the 3000m. This also gave her the overall bronze medal.
• In 2017, at the World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, she made history. She became the first British woman to win a speed skating world championship by taking gold in the 1500m. She then won a second gold in the 1000m and a bronze in the 3000m. This helped her win the overall gold, making her the first non-Asian woman to win the overall world title in 23 years!

Setting a World Record

On November 13, 2016, Elise Christie set a new world record for the 500m short track speed skating event. She finished in an amazing 42.335 seconds during a World Cup race in Salt Lake City. Because of this, she was called the "fastest woman on ice." A special banner celebrating her success was put up at the National Ice Centre.

Olympic Games Experiences

Elise Christie competed in three Winter Olympic Games.

2010 Winter Olympics

Elise took part in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She finished 11th in the 500m, 19th in the 1000m, and 20th in the 1500m.

2014 Winter Olympics

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Elise hoped to win a medal.

• In the 500m final, she was disqualified after a collision with another skater.
• Two days later, in the 1500m event, she was disqualified in the heats for not crossing the finishing line correctly.
• She qualified for the 1000m quarter-finals and won her race. However, she was disqualified for a third time in the semi-final after colliding with a Chinese skater. After these races, she faced some challenges online.

2018 Winter Olympics

At the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, Elise set an Olympic record in the 500m event during qualification. This record was broken shortly after by another skater, but Elise regained it in the quarter-finals.

• In the 500m final, she crashed out after another skater's skate clipped her hand. She finished fourth.
• In the 1500m event, she won her heat but crashed out of her semi-final race in a collision. She was disqualified and taken to the hospital with an ankle injury.
• In her 1000m heat, Elise fell, causing the race to restart. She finished second in the second attempt, but was later disqualified for causing two separate collisions.

Retirement and Possible Return

On December 14, 2021, Elise Christie announced she was retiring from short track speed skating. This was because an ankle injury stopped her from qualifying for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

However, in early 2022, Elise mentioned that she might return to short track speed skating. She expressed hopes of competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. She said she would need to fund her own training and plans to focus on the shorter 500m and 1000m distances.

Personal Life and Recognition

Elise Christie has received several awards for her sporting achievements. She was named Nottingham Sportswoman of the Year in 2013 and 2015. In 2017, she was named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year. This award recognized her amazing world title wins at the 2017 World Championships.

She was in a relationship with Hungarian short track speed skater Shaolin Sándor Liu from October 2015 until the 2018 Winter Olympics.

See also

• Short track speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics

External links

• {{ISU short track skater}} template missing ID.
• Elise Christie at ShortTrackOnLine.info
• Elise Christie at Olympics.com (archived: OlympicChannel.com and Olympic.org)Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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• Elise Christie at Team GBLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).