A tearful Elise Christie has said that she felt the decision to strip her of an Olympic silver medal was a harsh one.
The Great Britain speed skater was penalised for causing a collision following the 500m short track final, having completed the race in second place behind China's Li Jianrou.
After the announcement that Christie would be moved down to fourth place, she spoke to BBC Sport about the incident in the race which saw her wipe out two of her competitors.
"Basically, I knew if I sat in third then the Chinese girl would come at the end," said Christie, fighting back tears. "I had the speed so I moved up, but I was hit on the foot and then hit everyone else. It was a 50/50 call, but everyone has different opinions. There was a little gap, and I knew I had more speed at that point.
"I used my instinct and went for it. Now I am regretting it.
"I thought she [Italian racer Arianna Fontana] had hit me so I didn't think it would be me who was penalised. I haven't watched the replay back but I have to respect the decision now. I was really relaxed as it was not my major event. I will use the next day to get my head back together."
Christie will compete in her favoured 1,000m and 1,500m events next week.
Joe McPhee
