SCOT Elise Christie is to get psychological support after she suffered more Olympic heartbreak when she crashed in going for gold in a cut-and-thrust speed skating final.
Four years to the day after 27-year-old from Livingston was robbed of a 500 metres short track speed skating silver medal following a controversial judges' decision at the Sochi Winter Olympics, she lost out once again and tearfully blamed a competitor for knocking her over.
The Scot was briefly in third spot, but as she tried to hold her line on the final lap her hand came in contact with Van Kerkhof's boot which resulted in her careering into wall.
The Pyeongchang Games calamity is the latest setback for Christie, who was given fourth place, having suffered a hat-trick of disqualifications in Sochi. That experience was also remembered for the thousands of abusing tweets she was set by South Koreans who blamed her for bringing down Park Seung-hi.
She wept as she said: "When it is something you have worked so hard for and for someone to just knock you over like that, it seems so unfair.
"I remember I was in bronze, and she was on the outside and then they bumped so then I went into the space because it was a perfect opportunity and then I thought I could go for it on the last lap and it gives me time. And then I got the hit. "I'm going to have a day to get over it and then I need to get back focussed."
She added: “I’ve worked so hard for the 500, and it’s just been taken away from me. I know it’s short track and I’m supposed to be prepared for this, but...
"Even in the semi final I got crashed into and ended up in lane four. It is short track and I am supposed to be prepared for this but it hurts...Right now I can’t see living with this feeling."
After her Sochi heartbreak it took her more than 18 months to recover from the agony of missing out on a medal. This time, however, she has only four days.
And Stewart Laing, the speed skating performance director indicated that the triple world champion would get some psychological support before she goes again on Saturday in the 1500m heats and follows that with her favoured event, the 1,000m, which begins on Tuesday. If she qualifies she gets another chance to go for a medal in the 1500m on Saturday night (local time) and the 1,000m on February 22.
Heartbreak yet again for @Elise_Christie 💔
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) February 13, 2018
The Team GB athlete reacts to crashing out in the #SpeedSkating 500m final 😢#PyeongChang2018 pic.twitter.com/zkEaGULqrO
“We have brought our sports psychologist out and we have had this planned just in case," said Mr Laing. "We will regroup and refocus. We will give her time to digest but then help her cope with what’s happened.
"Crucially Elise is in a much stronger place. She is far more robust than last time. She has actually finished the race so it's different to Sochi. Obviously none of us wanted it to be written this way but we come back on Saturday in her best event."
Italy's Arianna Fontana won gold and Dutchwoman Yara van Kerkhof got silver.
Four years ago in Sochi she was was disqualified in the 500m final after judges ruled she had caused a three woman pile-up at the start of the race.
Two days later she said she was "gobsmacked" after she was forced out of the short track 1500m in the qualifying heats. She finished the race in first but was deemed not to have crossed the official line marked in the ice. She was wide by 1cm.
She later crashed in the 1000m short-track semi-final when she collided with Li Jianrou of China while lying in second place.
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