Winter Olympics Vancouver 2010: Elise Christie cries foul as skate clash ends medal hopes

Published on Thursday 18 February 2010 23:28

BRITISH short track speed skating coach Nicky Gooch criticised the inconsistency of officiating in the sport after Scotland's Elise Christie was knocked out of the women's 500 metres after a clash of skates and team-mate Sarah Lindsay was disqualified.

Gooch suggested Lindsay's disqualification had possibly had a knock-on effect of how the rest of the evening went for Team GB.

"When athletes get success it builds, the excitement grows," he said. "When you have events that go against you it dampens that spirit. So, first Sarah went out, then Elise went out and it's growing in the opposite way. Then Jon's gone out and that really starts to hit you, your confidence."

Christie felt she was wronged by the referee after being bumped by South Korean rival Lee Eun-Byul in her 500m quarter-final while both Jon Eley, despite a personal best, and Tom Iveson were eliminated from the men's 1000m heats and the men's 5000m relay squad finished a distant fourth in their semi-final.

Christie had been well placed in second behind Canada's Marianne St-Gelais only for a slight clash of skates one lap from home with Lee Eun-Byul to derail her momentum. The Korean overtook her and claimed second place to go through at the 19-year-old Scot's expense. A frustrated Christie said she believed the clash with Eun-Byul deserved a review by the race officials. "I did a good race, I just had a slip with her on my inside," said Christie. "I think the referee should have called it but there's nothing I can do now.

"Sarah shouldn't have been DQ'd and I think the Korean should have been disqualified. She hit me and I lost speed. It took a lot of speed out of me, it was a bit unfair. It's annoying but it's all down to opinion."

The decision to eject Lindsay from the second quarter-final added to Christie's frustration. "As if you can get disqualified on the first half-lap of a 500 metres race. You've got to be aggressive; they're basically telling you not to be aggressive, it's just stupid."

Christie, who hails originally from Livingston but is now based in Nottingham, must regroup and prepare for her stronger distances, the 15,00m heats on Saturday and the 1,000m on Wednesday.

"I've got to put this behind me and carry on with it," she said. "I've got four years to wait now (for the 500m) but I've got in the top 12 in my first Olympic Games. I just feel a bit annoyed now."

Lindsay, 29, saw her medal bid end at the first corner of her quarter-final at the Pacific Coliseum as she and Canadian rival Jessica Gregg both fell twice during typically aggressive race starts.

The first time no action was taken as both Gregg and Lindsay crashed out and the quartet was sent back to the start line. When Lindsay and Gregg again vied for position behind race leader and eventual gold medallist Meng Wang at the first corner following the restart both women fell and the race was halted once more. This time the referee ruled Lindsay to have been at fault and the Briton was disqualified for interference.

Gooch, Britain's only Olympic short track medallist following his bronze in Lillehammer in 1994, said such a ruling would not have happened at a regular World Cup meet where races are often restarted many times.

"It's very disappointing," Gooch said. "We definitely expected we could get through.

"The referees make decisions and we don't always agree with them but at the end of the day the referee's decision is final. On the World Cup circuit, that kind of incident where two athletes are going for the same spot at the start, it can get a little physical and it's a normal occurrence, skaters will fall over because they make contact and they call it back.

"The referee has obviously decided that Sarah's being too aggressive and is the cause of it."

Lindsay's sad exit marked the end of her Olympic career as the 500m was her only event at her final Games.