Yarnold wins skeleton gold as Deas earns bronze – Best pictures as star comforts rival
LIZZY YARNOLD successfully defended her skeleton title with a superb final run in PyeongChang, but the Team GB star was quick to spare a thought for her beaten opponents.
Lizzy Yarnold consoles Janine Flock after winning skeleton gold
Yarnold is the first Brit to retain her Olympic title after setting a track record on her final run in the Women’s skeleton.
Sat just 0.02 seconds off the pace ahead of her last run, Yarnold posted a time of 51.46 seconds which overnight leader Janine Flock failed to beat.
The Austrian’s poor final run saw her slip down to fourth place, with Yarnold’s Team GB team-mate Laura Deas grabbing bronze.
Flock was visibly upset after finishing, and Yarnold was one of the first to comfort the 28-year-old.
Take a look through the gallery above to see some of the best pictures as Lizzy Yarnold comforts her beaten rival after winning the women’s skeleton gold medal.
FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT LIZZY YARNOLD
1. Merv the swerve
Yarnold's sled is called Mervyn, after a former work colleague from the days when she worked in insurance, Mervyn Sugden. He offered to help out Yarnold with sponsorship when she needed money to continue competing.
2. Multi eventer
Yarnold was a keen athlete, competing in javelin and shot put. She then set her heart on becoming a modern pentathlete, before being talented-identified and encouraged to take up skeleton.
3. Dizzee Lizzy
Yarnold often listens to grime music to motivate her before her races. She revealed she had listened to Dizzee Rascal moments before her first Olympic triumph in 2014, and is a big fan of the grime star Wiley.
4. Haberdasher
Yarnold lists her hobbies as knitting and listening to The Archers. During a year out in the wake of her Olympic success, she undertook a course in lampshade-making, wallpapered her house and completed an Open University course in book-keeping and accounting.
5. She-Ra, princess of power
Yarnold is known by other members of the British skeleton squad as 'She-Ra'. She deliberately avoided an entire run of Downton Abbey so she could watch the whole series whilst waiting for her gold medal run in Sochi.