Elise Christie blinked into the flashbulbs again and blinked back the tears. For those who dared to dream, it was all just a little bit depressingly predictable.

You’ve got to give it to Christie, she doesn’t do things by half measures.

After the disappointments of Sochi and here – falls, disqualifications, death threats and injuries – the 27-year old Scot could be forgiven for wanting to do something else.

She had joked she may try skeleton or even track cycling but there is still unfinished business in her sport for the three-time world champion.

Christie left Sochi wondering whether she could continue in the sport. However, in the four years since she’s become a three-time world champion, broken world records and established herself as the top-ranked skater in her sport. Surely, this Olympics couldn’t be as bad. Oh, how wrong she was.

“I’ll be back in Beijing,” she promised. “For all the success I’ve had, I can’t let this define me.

“I’m going to get myself so strong that I’ll get out in front and get away from everyone and that’ll be the focus now.

“I’m world champion and world record holder and I've proved myself. I wanted to bring it home for Britain, I could sense the support of the nation all the way from here.

“It would have meant the world to me. I'm devastated that I couldn't, but I know this is short-track.”

After falling and finishing fourth in the 500m final, she fell again and was disqualified in the 1500m, injuring her right ankle.

She hobbled to the start line for yesterday’s 1000m – her favourite event – but was sent spinning into the barriers at the very first corner.

She got up, skating on one leg, and returned to the start line for the restart, gingerly setting off and allowing others to contest the race while she stayed patient. Using every bit of energy she qualified in second, only to then be disqualified for two in-race penalties. You really couldn’t make it up.

However, she defended her decision to race, despite clearly not being fit enough.

And there’s no Olympic jinx in her mind, it’s just a case of very bad luck.

“It’s nothing to do with the Olympics, it’s just the way short track goes sometimes. I’ve had three races that were rubbish in the last four years and unfortunately they were all here,” she said.

“I can’t even count on two hands how many gold medals I’ve won since Sochi.

“It’s not about not coping with the pressure. I was nowhere near as stressed here as I was at last year’s World Championships because that was always the dream, to be the overall best skater in the world.

“It’s just unlucky, it’s not fate or a curse, that this has happened at both Games. You couldn’t have written this in a book.”

And while Christie saw her podium dreams crash on the ice, the men’s and women’s curling teams were continuing their marathon as they both bid to make the knockout stages.

While some sports are blink and you'll miss it affairs, any team contesting the podium places here will have spent nearly 40 hours on the ice.

And that means pacing yourself is key. After slow starts both British rinks are back in contention and guaranteed at least a place in the tiebreakers after wins yesterday,

“A big shout out to Kyle [Smith, GB men's skip] as this was his best game,” said coach Viktor Kjell, after an impressive 10-3 victory over 2010 silver medallists Norway, where Smith overshadowed his opposite number and 2014 world champion Thomas Ulsrud.

“The most important thing was that it was a good confidence boost for the team's feeling on the ice and also for Kyle."

Don’t miss a moment of the Olympic Winter Games at Eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app