Whizzy Lizzy grabs the gold!
But it’s heartache for speed skater Elise as she slips up for a SECOND time
SHE’D been feeling dizzy, but it didn’t stop Lizzy Yarnold whizzing to gold in South Korea yesterday – and leading Team GB to its most successful day ever at a Winter Olympics.
The skeleton racer screamed for joy in Pyeongchang as she became the first Briton in history to successfully defend a winter Games title.
Bronzes for Laura Deas and Izzy Atkin ensured Britain’s best ever medal haul since the very first Winter Olympics in 1924.
But sadly it was heartbreak for speed skater Elise Christie who was taken to hospital on a stretcher after a dramatic crash.
Lizzy, 29, from Sevenoaks, Kent, said :‘ I’ m overwhelmed and exhausted. I don’t really know how it happened. After the first run I wasn’t sure whether I was going to be able to finish the race because my chest infection was so bad I was struggling to breathe and I got here only with the help of my team. I love pressure, I enjoy it.’
Lizzy, who races at speeds up to 90mph on a sled the size of a tea tray, battled against the odds to win gold, four years after triumphing in Sochi. As well as the chest infection she has a long-term inner ear problem which affects her balance and on Friday night left her complaining of dizzy spells.
Lizzy was joined on the podium by team-mate Laura Deas who won bronze in the same event. The 29year-old from Wrexham said: ‘I just can’t believe it’s happening. It’s like a dream. I’m so pleased for Lizzy.’
Slopestyle skier Izzy Atkin, 19, who was born in America, said becoming the first member of a British team to win a medal on skis was ‘ awesome’. She said: ‘ I’m speechless and stoked to win the bronze and represent Great Brit- ain.’ Despite living in Utah, her father Mike, who grew up in Birmingham where his mother still lives, ensures his children get plenty of British influences. He said: ‘The kids grew up on Ribena and Marmite, Izzy is back in England a lot, visiting my family. We are so proud.’ But for Elise Christie, the day ended in misery when she ploughed into the crash barrier after clipping a Chinese skater on the last bend in the 1,500m short track speed skating semi-final, a week after crashing in the 500m. At the 2014 Games she was disqualified in all three of her events. The 27-year-old has one more chance of glory in the 1,000m on Thursday.
After X-rays confirmed she had suffered no broken bones in the spectacular crash, her boyfriend, Hungarian skater Shaolin Liu, said: ‘I think she is going to be fine.’
Team GB’s medal tally now stands at four, thanks to Bath University PhD student Dom Parsons’ bronze in the skeleton on Friday.
‘I’m exhausted – I was struggling to breathe’