Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold has allowed her head to rule her heart by putting safety first and opting to miss out on the second skeleton World Cup of the season in Calgary.
Yarnold picked up where she left off at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics by storming to victory in the World Cup opener in Lake Placid on Friday, her margin of victory 0.77 seconds.
The World Cup tour now moves swiftly on to Canada for the second of eight legs with European nations Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria and Russia to hold the remainder after Christmas.
However Yarnold will be absent from Calgary after experiencing dizziness on route to victory in the USA, instead planning to rest up ahead of the World Cup resuming in 2015.
“I’m naturally disappointed not to be able to race on Friday. I enjoyed getting back into the mindset last week and winning,” she said.
“I felt dizzy at the end of the first run in Lake Placid but felt OK before the second run and knew that I could go for it but in our sport where we are travelling at such high speeds these things happen and we have to look after ourselves.
“I’m going to spend the time over Christmas resting so that I can come back stronger in 2015.”
Yarnold is part of a five-strong British team for the World Cup and performance adviser Andi Schmid insisted it was better to be safe than sorry.
“It is better that Lizzy sits out the second World Cup,” said Schmid. “The forces experienced by sliders are considerable during their runs down the track. We must make sure that she is fully fit before racing again.”
© Sportsbeat 2014