Memories of her Olympic skeleton success will always burn bright for Lizzy Yarnold but she insists her attention is now switched firmly to the forthcoming season and chasing a first ever World Championship title.
Yarnold won Great Britain’s first gold medal of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, dominating from start to finish to make it two successive women’s skeleton titles after Amy Williams took gold at Vancouver 2010.
The victory came following an impressive season which saw Yarnold claim a British record seven podium finishes on the way to the 2013-2014 World Cup title.
But while making sure to enjoy her success – the 25-year-old was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours this summer – Yarnold’s focus is now back to the track.
Great Britain’s top skeleton athletes gathered at the University of Bath this week for a pre-season camp ahead of national trials in Winterberg, Germany at the start of next month, while the World Cup gets underway in Lake Placid in early December.
And Yarnold insists she is as motivated as ever to continue her success, including adding to her 2012 bronze at next year’s World Championships in Winterberg.
“I like the memory of the Olympics. It was one of the best moments of my life and I’ve been able to do some fabulous things since then," she said.
“But now I’m a focused athlete again and I need to concentrate on the World Cup season.
“The World Championships is also a target as I’ve never won it. I need to be as strong as I can be and as good as I can be and hopefully I will be able to do well.”
© Sportsbeat 2014