Lizzy Yarnold suffers setback in defence of Olympic skeleton title

Yarnold is aiming to become the first person to defend an Olympic skeleton title but her World Cup season has not gone according to plan.

Before the season, the 29-year-old was diagnosed with a vestibular disorder affecting her inner ear, meaning she suffered from dizzy spells.

She started the campaign with a bronze medal in Lake Placid in November but little has gone right since. She ranked a distant 19th in Altenberg today, following her 16th place in Innsbruck before Christmas and 13th in Winterberg, which leave her outside the world's top ten.

The results highlight a stark contrast to her form before the Sochi Olympics, when she topped the World Cup standings with four golds and three podiums in the eight-race season.

Yarnold admits her build-up is 'not exactly where I want to be in terms of results' and will now race in St Moritz and Konigssee before the British Olympic team is confirmed later this month.

World Cup leader Jacqueline Loelling topped an all-German podium after two terrific runs secured her third win of the season.

Loelling was fastest going into the second round of runs after clocking 58.5 seconds, before a follow-up effort of 59.24 secs was good enough for an overall victory time of 1:57.74.

Tina Hermann's two efforts of 58.68 secs and 59.19 secs were the second fastest runs in both rounds, but she still finished 0.13 seconds behind her compatriot.

And Anna Fernstadt held off the challenge of Austrian Lelde Priedulena to complete the podium positions, despite the latter clocking the quickest time on the second run. Great Britain's Laura Does ranked eighth and sits fifth in the world rankings.

Loelling's overall lead over Elisabeth Vathje has been stretched to 109 points after the Canadian could only manage ninth in Altenberg.