Sochi 2014: Lizzy Yarnold wins gold in skeleton

The 25-year-old from Kent smashed the track record in her third run to move over three quarters of a second clear of her American rival Noelle Pikus-Pace.

And she clocked 58.09 seconds on her fourth and final run to win by 0.97secs from Pikus-Pace with a combined time of three minutes 52.89secs.

Pikus-Pace took the silver and Russia’s Elena Nikitina the bronze.

Union Jack

Yarnold had gone into the final two runs at the Sanki Sliding Center with a commanding 0.44 second advantage over Pikus-Pace after a commanding performance on Thursday.

And despite inevitable fears of how she might cope with the pressure of holding such a big overnight lead, she responded with a sensational run when she went first in the third run as night fell over the Caucasus mountains.

Just as Amy Williams had set a track record in her third run four years ago to effectively rubber-stamp gold, Yarnold’s run left her 0.78 clear of Pikus-Pace going into the final run.

Yarnold celebrated after her gold-clinching final run by running towards the British fans in the crowd holding aloft the Union Jack and beaming with joy.

Yarnold’s overnight lead had seemed to justify her status as the strongest British favourite for a Winter Olympic gold medal since Torvill and Dean triumphed in Sarajevo 30 years ago to the day.

But victory was still far from certain with home favourite Nikitina looking a particular threat having trailed Yarnold by only 0.05 seconds after the first heat before a bump midway down her second run knocked her back into third.

Yarnold’s victory makes her the fourth consecutive British woman to win an Olympic skeleton medal after Alex Coomber, Shelley Rudman and Amy Williams, who took gold in Vancouver four years ago.

Williams was present to witness Yarnold’s piece of history, which came after a dominant World Cup season that saw her win the overall title with four wins and three more podium finishes from the season’s eight races.

Yarnold’s parents Clive and Judith, her two sisters Katie and Charlotte, and her boyfriend James Roche, who is a sled technician with the British bobsleigh team, were present to witness her famous triumph.

Shelley Rudman finished in 16th place with a combined time of 3:56.47.

Yarnold’s success follows on from that of a number of British athletes who have done well on the track, despite there being not a single bobsleigh, luge or skeleton track on British soil.

Amy Williams took gold for Great Britain at the last winter olympics in Vancouver.