Rhythmic | Louise Christie announces retirement
Louise Christie has officially announced her retirement as a rhythmic gymnast.
The five-times Scottish champion has decided to call time on her highly successful representative career after making history in Birmingham in 2022. That was when Louise won Team Scotland’s first ever rhythmic gymnastics silver medal, which she notes as her greatest achievement of her career.
Louise was first selected onto the Scottish rhythmic performance squad in 2007 after only being in the sport recreationally for two years. She then moved into the GB squad and attended the British Championships securing a bronze medal for clubs. From here she progressed leaps and bounds, being selected multiple times to represent GB at World Cup events and three European Championships.
From an energetic Macklemore themed clubs to powerful Beyonce ball routines, she captivated audiences’ home and away at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Louise’s most notable and moving though being her historic silver winning ribbon routine, paying homage to her homeland with the phrase ‘Scotland the Brave’ proudly decorated across the apparatus.
Throughout the peaks of her career, Louise continued to study at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, graduating in 2023 with a first-class honours degree in Applied Sport and Exercise Science. In 2025 she will return to her studies as she moves down to Edinburgh following an offer to study a masters in physiotherapy at Queen Margaret University. Knowing the importance of exercise for physical and mental health, Louise has taken up cycling to keep active since calling time on her gymnastics training.
Congratualtions Louise, to you, your supportive family, your coaches, medics and support team for your achievements. We look forward to following the next chapter of your physiotherapy career and newfound passion in cycling.
Photographs:
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Team Scotland/Ewan Bootman
Young Louise: Louise’s personal image