West Lothian short-track speed skater Elise Christie targets 2026 Winter OIympics just three months after retiring

Livingston short-track speed skater Elise Christie has targeted a place at the 2026 Winter Olympics just two months after retiring from the sport.

The 31-year-old called time on her incredible career in December when it became apparent that injury would cost her a trip to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

But speaking to the BBC, she admitted she has caught the bug once again and is aiming to qualifying for the Games, which will be staged in Milan.

Christie, who has spent her career based in Nottingham, has made three Winter Olympics appearances and missed out on medals in both the 2014 and 2018 following controversial incidents.

A three-time world champion and 10-time European champion. Christie admitted it would be a tough ask to qualify for Milan but says she will ‘do everything I can’ to make it to a fourth Games.

She said: “Watching the 500m event the other day, I’ve made a vow I’m going to do everything I can to try to get back out at the next one.

“I’m not going to be skating the 1500m, though. That’s a promise.”

She added: “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.

“If I were to try to do it again, I’d still skate for Britain but trying to do it training somewhere else and only focusing on the sprint distances.

“We’re going to have to be going abroad, realistically, and then self-funding and figuring all that out. So I need some time to do that.

“But I’m going to start getting back into shape. I’ve had three months of eating cookies.”

Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/