Olympic24: Yarnold gold and rower Sbihi wins indoors

From medal success on the ice with Yarnold and Christie to indoor rowing champions: Here’s our review of the last 24 hours

Lizzy Yarnold hasn't slowed down since winning her Olympic skeleton title in Sochi 12 months ago.

This weekend she won another World Cup gold and then, 24 hours later, claimed the European title, with British team-mate Rose McGrandle taking bronze to join her on the podium.

“Being European champion was a huge goal of mine, I desperately wanted to add that crown - that was one of the goals for the season, and the other one is the World Championships, so it’s been a really, really good day," she said.

McGrandle admitted shock at her maiden medal at this level.

“I’m still in a bit of shock because this is completely new to me. I’m really pleased that I got a medal," she said.

Rower Moe Sbihi is a world champion on the water - and a British champion off it.

Sbihi smashed his personal best to win the men's 2km title at the British Rowing Indoor Championships at the Olympic velodrome in London.

His time of 5.45.40 edged out British team-mates Will Satch and Sam Townsend but wasn't quick enough to erase four-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent from the record books.

"It’s been a good couple of weeks for me," said Sbihi.

"I feel in a good place at the moment. This is good for training, we don’t get to race that often in our country and be able to wear a GB vest in the way we have done.

"I’m really supportive of the event and to have a good crowd in this venue is really exciting”.

Debbie Flood, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic silver medallist who retired after London 2012, won the women's 2km title.

“It is a fantastic venue and I wanted to put out a solid ergo and I love racing so decided to enter," she said.

"I came into rowing through using a rowing machine from juniors onwards."

Two weeks after becoming the new European champion, short track speed skater Elise Christie was back on the podium.

Christie took silver in the 500m at the World Cup in Dresden, finishing just behind Italian rival Arianna Fontana.

“Elise’s recent victory at the European Championships has made a big difference to her confidence and her overall performance this weekend," said British team performance director Stuart Horsepool.

"Racing on the world stage brings a different calibre of skaters, so the challenge here in Dresden was greater than at the Europeans. That didn’t stop Elise; she put in a strong performance and showed a lot of tenacity whilst racing, which has really paid off for her."

Fellow Olympian Jack Whelbourne finished fifth in the men's 1500m final after being taken out in the final seconds of the race when vying for a medal.

“I’m pleased with my performance this weekend. I feel that I’ve skated well at world level and I’m now looking forward to the World Championships in March," he said.

Head coach Simon Amor paid tribute to his England team after they missed out in the final of rugby sevens World Series in Wellington.

England edged out Scotland in the semi-finals and pushed hosts New Zealand all the way before losing 27-21 in the final.

“I’m incredibly proud of the guys. We showed great spirit to get into the final, our pride and character shone through," said Amor, whose side are now ranked fifth in the series.

“It’s always nice to be in a cup final – it’s why we play the game, the guys want to be competing at the highest level and winning trophies.

"We still have a long way to go with the programme, but this is a good step forward."

England women's sevens team moved to fifth in the world ranking after their latest tournament in Brazil.

Simon Middleton's side were knocked out by eventual winners Australia in the quarter-finals.

But then beat Russia and the USA to claim the consolation plate in São Paulo.

“It has been a tough weekend and to be honest we deserved to finish where we did," said Middleton.

"We are now fifth in the World Series and we know we have got to keep moving forward over the next four rounds to get higher up the rankings ladder.”

Mark Cavendish was full of praise for his Etixx-QuickStep teammates after the Manxman won a final-stage sprint to capture the Tour of Dubai title.

"To win here is pretty special," said Cavendish. "We rode hard the whole week and in the final stage we really had to work. I'm super happy with our lads."

Di Lampard has been appointed as the new performance manager for jumping by the British Equestrian Federation.

Team GB won the team show jumping title at London 2012 with world number one Scott Brash leading a quartet that included Peter Charles, Ben Maher and Nick Skelton.

"I want to ignite the fire and passion of London 2012 to achieve success, our immediate goal being qualification for Rio in 2016. We will only do this with a no compromise approach and by creating a strong team spirit," said Lampard, who succeeds Rob Hoekstra.

Jenny Jones won the first ever British Olympic medal on snow with a bronze in the women's snowboarding slopestyle event.

Biathlete Amanda Lightfoot and cross country skier Callum Smith made their Olympic debuts in the 7.5km sprint and skiathlon respectively.

© Sportsbeat 2015