Skeleton Gold for Lizzy Yarnold at Junior World Championships in Innsbruck
Last updated 1/28/2012 9:44:33 AM
Skeleton Gold for Lizzy Yarnold at Junior World Championships in Innsbruck
Great Britain's Lizzy Yarnold continued her remarkable start to 2012 by claiming gold at the Skeleton Junior World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.
The 23-year-old from Kent won her first senior World Cup event, in only her second senior appearance, last week.
Yarnold paid tribute to British team-mates Shelly Rudman, the Olympic silver medallist in 2006, and Vancouver Olympic Champion Amy Williams, who have helped her since she joined the senior ranks.
Yarnold looks ready to follow in their footsteps as Britain continues to improve in the winter sports disciplines.
The improvements will continue as they help each other with funding still difficult to come by despite the successes.
"We're all good friends and very open," said the 23-year-old.
"Last weekend, after the first run, Shelley came over and said, 'Lizzy, good job, that was really well done.' To know you have that support from your own nation is really, really helpful and pushes you forward."
"It feels amazing, I knew the competition would be tight and everyone brought their A-game.
"I was tense on the line at the start of the second run, but managed to relax enough and do what I had to."
Yarnold held a lead of just seven hundredths of a second after the first round, but her time of 54.70 seconds on the final run gave her an overall time of one minute 49.50 seconds and victory over Russia's Olga Potylitsina.
"On the first run I actually clocked 121 kilometres per hour, which is my fastest on this track, so I knew things were going well for me from the first run and I was just so pleased to replicate it from the second run," Yarnold added.
"I was quite astonished really; I had a fantastic team round me. GB Skeleton are always extremely supportive and help me enjoy what I do, that makes me relaxed and results come from that."
Without UK Sport funding, Yarnold relies heavily on sponsorship and the £3,500 she receives from the Talented Athlete [TASS] support programme each year.
The skeleton specialist admits that although she has enjoyed her recent victories, the World Championship in Lake Placid, New York, will be key to securing more financial backing.
"I work full-time in the summer [for an insurance company] and train full-time, so having some sponsors really makes a massive difference, supporting training costs, transport and buying new equipment such as helmets - which cost £500-600.
"I like to have a new one every season because they are so important."
Yarnold added: "We only get funding based on two events, the World Championships and Olympic Games, so none of my results count towards that yet. I will need to perform at the World Championships."