Lizzy Yarnold can turn season around, says Amy Williams

Despite a relatively poor start to the season, Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold can still create history by defending her title next year according to her predecessor Amy Williams.

Sevenoaks' Yarnold lies tenth in the overall World Cup standings after three rounds following third, eighth and 23rd-place finishes so far.

The latest lowly ranking came after an early hit on the wall at the track in Whistler, meaning she did not qualify for the second run and resulted in much head shaking and hand-wringing in the aftermath.

But Williams, who won skeleton gold at Vancouver 2010, four years before Yarnold, is still backing her compatriot for a medal at PyeongChang 2018.

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"She's definitely still a medal contender. Her start to the season may not have been so good, but in our sport you do test a lot of things," said Williams, speaking at SportsAid's annual SportsBall in London.

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice races to test different bits of runners or other equipment.

"Just because she hasn't done quite as well so far, it's early days and there is a long season ahead before the Olympics in February.

Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain takes a training run in the Women's Skeleton during the BMW IBSF Bobsleigh + Skeleton World Cup at Utah Olympic Park November 16, 2017 in Park City, Utah.

Image credit: Getty Images

"I still think she'll come shining through towards the end."

Should Yarnold go on to win gold in PyeongChang, that would make her the first skeleton athlete to successfully defend an Olympic title.

Britain have won a medal in every Olympics since women's skeleton was introduced to the schedule at Salt Lake City in 2002.

The last two Games Team GB have come back with gold, and Williams is not ruling Yarnold out from repeating her achievement of four years ago in Sochi, Russia.

"I think a lot of the athletes in skeleton, because you're on the road so much, retire after a Games," she added.

"If they've made it at a Games then they retire and hang their spikes up - there have never really been the same people going back to each Olympics.

"Lizzy is definitely one who could and repeat the victory, or get a medal. She's got the skill and lots retired after Sochi so there is a bit of a gap.

"There's a field of maybe five or six strong girls and on any day it could be any of them."

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