Great Britain’s Elise Christie admits her performances at the ISU World Cup in Shanghai may act as a good reality check ahead of qualification for the Olympics after she could only finish eighth in the 1000m on the final day.
Christie was looking to bounce back from her fifth-place finish in the 500m yesterday but after falling in the quarter-finals in the 1500m, a penalisation in the 1000m semi-final meant she was unable to progress through to the final.
The Brit was adjudged to have impeded Italian skater Arianna Fontana, who went on to finish fourth and was therefore unable to contest the final.
The 23-year-old, who won silver in the 1000m at World Cup I last season, now has the qualification for the Olympics to focus on and insists she will come back stronger.
“I’m frustrated, but in a way it’s good to have a bit of a reality check, because I’m not going to win every race, as much as I’d like to,” said Christie.
“The goal is the qualifiers for the Olympics, so I’m not worried that I haven’t medalled here.”
Elsewhere, European bronze medallist Charlotte Gilmartin reached the semi-finals of the 1500m, finishing in 18th place overall, while Richard Shoebridge finished fifth in both his quarter-finals to give him an overall 14th and 13th-place finish in the 500m and 1000m respectively.
The squad will now travel to Seoul for World Cup II which begins this Thursday.
© Sportsbeat 2013