No-one could describe Elise Christie as having "two left feet" but the Scottish speed skater had to contend yesterday with having two right feet, writes Chris Sweeney.
The 23-year-old Livingston woman, who was disqualified in three events at the recent Sochi Winter Olympics, was hoping to put her disappointment behind her at this weekend's Short Track Speed Skating World Championships in Montreal, but her problems began before she even took to the ice when her skates were badly damaged on the journey to Canada. However, she still managed to battle to an impressive fifth position in the 1500 metres at the city's Maurice Richard arena.
"I was skating on two right blades as my blades broke. So that was a disaster. Both left feet broke and I only have two pairs with me over here, so I had to put a right blade on my left foot which causes problems. It could have been fixed at home as we have the machine but we haven't got one here, and you can't use someone else's as it has to be specifically set up for you. All things considered, I am pleased I was able to skate the way I did."
The 1500m is Christie's weakest event, but she cruised through her heat and semi-final. But the slow final, won by Korean Suk Hee Shim, was too much of a tactical battle, as she tried to make up places on the outside on the last few laps.
Christie has high hopes for the 500m and her specialist event, the 1000m, this weekend.
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