I am not on the slide says Lizzy

Cup events, which should play to this strength. In addition, the track suits her, underlined by a strong showing in the test event 12 months ago.

“The Olympics suit me – two days of competition under the most intense pressure,” says Yarnold.

“It rewards consistency and I’ve got that knowledge of having been there and done it – no one else has that.”

But Germany’s Jacqueline Lolling remains the one to beat while Yarnold’s teammate Laura Daes has had better results than the Olympic champion this season and will also fancy her medal chances.

Yarnold followed up her Olympic victory by winning the World Cup and world title the following season but then took a year away from the sport.

She got married to James Roche, a former member of the British Bobsleigh support team who now works with Sir Ben Ainslie’s America’s EOIN MORGAN refused to take cover behind contentious umpiring decisions after Glenn Maxwell led Australia to a thumping five-wicket victory in England’s opening Trans-Tasman T20 in Hobart.

The explosive all-rounder’s unbeaten century was the standout innings as the hosts chased down England’s under-par 155-9 with nine balls to spare. Yet the outcome Cup campaign. She took a course in lampshade making, wallpapered the house and completed an Open University course in book-keeping and accounting.

When she returned there is no doubt the sport had moved on, a new crop of youngsters had made their mark and were in no mood to give the Olympic champion a welcome return.

But she says: “If I hadn’t taken that year off I wouldn’t be sitting here now. I had to take that time away to reboot, to find that motivation. I won everything there was to win so I had to find that motivation – and that was to go to PyeongChang. It took a while to feel like an athlete again but I’m right back in it now.”

WATCH Lizzy Yarnold at 11.20am on February 16 on Eurosport 1 and Eurosport Player. Don’t miss a moment of the Winter Games on Eurosport and Eurosport Player. Go to www.eurosport.co.uk.