British short track speed skater Elise Christie says she was raped when she was 19 years old.
The 10 time European gold medallist and three-time world champion revealed she was spiked with a date rape drug while on a night out in Nottingham in 2010.
Her attacker then forced her back to his house, but Christie says she never reported the incident to the police.
“There are not many people I've spoken to about it - I had to even tell my mum because she wasn't aware," Christie revealed to The Telegraph.
“I felt victim-shamed, almost, by what happened. I wasn't left in a bush, battered and beaten up, so back then I thought: 'It's not rape.'"
The assault occurred after Christie competed at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver — where she finished 11th in the 500m, 19th in the 200m and 20th in the 1500m.
The British star said she was checked over by a doctor a few days after the incident, but they were one of just four people to know until now.
According to Christie, her attacker found her on Facebook to apologise, but she later had a panic attack when she saw him walking down the street.
Her autobiography “Resilience” came out last Thursday and documents the incident in detail.
The book also opens up about her past struggles with mental health, having received death threats on social media.
Around Christmas time in 2018, Christie contemplated taking her own life after suffering huge disappointment at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang earlier in the year. . She completely missed out on a medal at the Games after falling in the 500m and 1500m, before being disqualified in the 1,000m.
Speaking on the decision to tell people about her experience over a decade ago, Christie said: “For me it was a big step to even talk about the assault in the first place.
"I've always talked about the fact that I want to help people. There are so many women who have gone through or who might be going through this same situation right now and won't speak up either."
Christie is the first British skater to ever win world titles in the 1000m and 1500m events, and hopes to compete in her fourth Winter Olympics in Beijing next year.
The Brit is aiming to medal but admits there’s more to it than just that.
“I also want to be the girl who helped others turn their lives around and the girl who has turned her life around and has come back. That's why I try to set that example.”