Winter Olympics: Elise Christie wants to return for 2026 Games

Britain's Elise Christie has indicated she wants to return to competitive skating for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Christie, 31, retired from short-track speed skating in December.

The former world and European champion did not win a medal in three Winter Olympic appearances, missing out in 2014 and 2018 after controversial incidents.

But asked on Wednesday if she had made peace with the Olympics, Christie told BBC Sport: "No. I thought I had."

She added: "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."

Christie has indicated she would focus on the shorter distances - 500m or 1,000m.

The Livingston-born skater, who has struggled with mental health and multiple injuries during her career, said at the time of her retirement her sporting career was not over, but she was planning to focus on coaching for the immediate future.

Working as a pundit on the BBC's television coverage of the Beijing Games, she indicated she was planning to work with coach Nicky Gooch and three-time Winter Olympian short-track speed skater Sarah Lindsay.

However, she suggested she would have to self-fund her bid to compete at the 2026 Games, to be staged in the Italian venues of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"Yeah. I've already been talking to Sarah, and we need to get back in shape," Christie said.

"But 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."

Speaking to BBC Breakfast earlier on Wednesday, Christie acknowledged that trying to qualify for 2026 without financial backing would be difficult.

She said: "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."

Controversy and heartbreak - Christie's Winters history

If Christie were to compete in 2026, she would be going for a first Winter Olympic medal at her fourth Games.

The Scot's Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Games ended with three finishes outside the top 10.

In Sochi in 2014, she was disqualified in all three of her events. She reached the A final in the 500m but was judged to have caused a crash - and a subsequent social media backlash prompted Christie to delete her Twitter account.

She was then disqualified in the 1500m heats for not crossing the finish line - instead running 1cm wide - and the 1,000m semi-final for another crash.

At the time, Christie said she was "confused and heartbroken" by her third disqualification, with BBC TV commentators describing the decision as "absolutely bewildering".

There was further frustration at Pyeongchang in 2018. Christie ended the 500m final in tears, finishing fourth after crashing as her hand appeared to be kicked out from under her by Dutch skater Yara van Kerkhof.

She was then disqualified in the 1500m semi-final - ending up in hospital - and again in the 1,000m heat for crashes.

Swapping blades for wheels

Since announcing her retirement, Christie has become involved in the eSkootr Championship, a new electric scooter racing competition to run worldwide over six rounds between May and October - with the first round in London.

Christie said: "I'm currently in the process of trying to qualify for eSkootr, which is obviously a sport that's really good for the environment.

"Hopefully I'll get selected for that - very determined to get good at it and be the best at it because it's a mixed sport.

"It feels so fast. Obviously I'm used to making my own speed, so it's a bit different."

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