06.02 Skeleton: Britain’s Yarnold Enjoying Fast Runs on Sochi Olympic Track

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia, February 6 (R-Sport) – Britain’s skeleton gold medal favorite Lizzy Yarnold said she has found a near-perfect track at the Sochi Olympics after posting fast times in training Wednesday.

Yarnold, who comes to Sochi as the newly crowned World Cup champion, topped the time charts in the first training run and went even faster on the second run, with a margin of 0.82 seconds over her American rival Noelle Pikus-Pace.

“It’s a really nice track,” she said after training. “The ice conditions are the best I’ve ever seen up here, so I knew it would be a fast track. You’ve obviously got to think about how you’ve got to steer a bit differently when it’s a fast track.

“I really enjoy it here because you’re sliding left-right-left-right, it’s a flume-like track and it’s just a lot of fun.”

At 1.8 kilometers, the Sanki Sliding Center in the mountains above Sochi is the longest sliding track in the world. It will host skeleton, luge and bobsled during the Games.

The women’s skeleton event starts with two runs February 13 and ends the next day.