Lizzy Yarnold might have sat out the second World Cup of the 2014/15 season but compatriot Laura Deas ensured Great Britain did not miss out on the podium with a superb second-place finish in Calgary, Canada.
Olympic champion Yarnold got her World Cup title defence off to the perfect start in the season opener in Lake Placid, storming to gold.
However the 26-year-old pulled out of the second leg in Canada with dizziness leaving Deas and Rose McGrandle to fight on in the women’s event.
And despite it being just her second World Cup outing – her first coming in Lake Placid, Deas put in a superb performance on her debut outing on the Calgary track, completing her two runs in an overall time of 1:55.62 minutes to finish second behind Canadian Elisabeth Vathje.
Completing the podium in third was German Tina Hermann – all three sliders competing on the World Cup circuit for the first time this season – but after also posting the fastest start time of 5.27 seconds in her second run there was no bigger smile than Deas’.
“I am absolutely delighted to get my first World Cup medal, particularly on a track which was new to me,” she said.
“Hopefully I can continue to perform this well after the Christmas break.”
Elsewhere in the women’s event, 27-year-old McGrandle was consistent again as she finished in sixth place in an overall time of 1:55.98.
Meanwhile, Dominic Parsons raced well to finish in seventh place, but was unable to reproduce the form which saw him win a bronze medal, his first at World Cup level, in Calgary last year.
Ed Smith was just outside the top-10 in his first heat but was unable to better his time of 56.81 second time round, as he finished in 18th place overall.
© Sportsbeat 2014