Speed skater Elise Christie crashes out for second time in Pyeongchang but Team GB celebrate first Gold at Games

Gold medal winner Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain and bronze medalist Laura Deas of Great Britain celebrate following the Women's Skeleton on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Olympic Sliding Centre (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

IT was a day of heartbreak and heroics for Team GB at the Winter Olympics yesterday.

Scottish medal hopeful Elise Christie was in tears as she was taken to hospital after crashing out of the women’s 1500m short track speed skating semi-final at Pyeongchang 2018.

The 27-year-old from Livingston in West Lothian collided with China’s Li Jinyu on the final lap as she tried to finish in the top two.

Only those positions qualify for the final. But the Scot – disqualified in three events at Sochi 2014 – was judged to have caused the crash and penalised.

Having missed out on a medal in the 500m, Christie only has the 1000m to end her Olympic drought.

But whether she is fit enough to even race remains unclear. Team GB last night said Christie had escaped any broken bones despite clattering into the cushioned side of the track but it was unclear if she would be fit to race again.

Jinyu Li of China and Elise Christie of Great Britain fall as Minjeong Choi of Korea skates past during the Short Track Speed Skating Ladies’ 1500m Semifinals (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

A spokesperson said: “Following the race Elise Christie was taken to hospital accompanied by the team doctor, team physio and team leader. She has had an X-ray on her right ankle which has shown that there are no broken bones.

“Team GB medical staff will continue to assess her over the coming days. Elise wants to thank everyone for their support and the hospital staff who assessed her so quickly.”

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Team GB.

Izzy Atkin’s historic bronze in the women’s ski slopestyle – the first ever Winter Olympics skiing medal –was followed by another first for Team GB. Lizzy Yarnold won gold in the women’s skeleton – the first time a Brit had successfully defended a Winter Olympics title.

The 29-year-old also won gold in Sochi 2014, bravely overcoming dizzy spells to win her second successive gold.

And the firsts didn’t stop there.British team-mate Laura Deas won bronze in the event, giving Britain two medals in the same event for the first time in Winter Olympics history. They have now won four medals in South Korea.