Christie strikes Gold in Russia
posted by: Olivia
Olympic Short Track Speed Skater Elise Christie raced to gold at the ISU World Cup in Moscow over the weekend as she returned from injury to take the title in the Women’s 1000m.
The 21-year-old, who trains full time in Nottingham, was in fine form as she held an early lead over the nine laps of the race. The bold move to skate from the front against a tough field paid dividends as she captured gold in 1:31.21, pushing World Championship medallist Qiuhong Liu of China into second with World Cup leader Sakai Yui taking third.
This is Christie’s third ISU World Cup medal of the season having already claimed two 1000m silver medals at legs in Canada and Japan. An injury to her wrist at the European Championships last month looked likely to rule Christie out of Moscow, but her determination to compete saw her back on the ice and going for gold. Christie is now ranked second in the world over the 1000m for her performances this season.
The team will now miss the final ISU World Cup of the season in order to focus on preparation for the World Championships in Shanghai next month. The ISU World Cups provide a valuable marker of form as the British team builds towards the World Championships and the Sochi 2014 Olympics.