ELISE CHRISTIE faces a race against time to recover from an ankle injury and keep her ailing Olympics dream alive.

The 27-year-old suffered soft tissue damage in a fall during her 1,500m semi-final at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Saturday, and was taken off the ice on a stretcher.

Christie is due to go in the heats for her final and favoured distance of 1,000m tomorrow, but Team chief Mike Hay said her hopes of returning are in the balance.