Amy wins silver on Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games track
Great Britain’s Amy Williams produced a stunning performance to win her first medal of the 2008/9 Skeleton World Cup campaign, taking silver on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games track.
The 26-year-old from Bath finished 0.53 seconds over two runs behind German’s Marion Trott in the race that took place in the early hours of this morning UK time.
It is Williams’ best World Cup result yet, following two bronzes last season.
Shelley Rudman, Britain’s Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games silver medallist, came sixth in today’s race on the Whistler Sliding Centre track in British Columbia.
Rudman continues to lead the women’s World Cup series – she already has two golds and a silver under her belt this season. Two of the eight World Cup rounds this season remain.
Today’s race was the first World Cup event held on the track and the first and only skeleton races on the track ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Dr Andy Schmid, GB performance director, said: “It’s an absolutely great result for Amy and it was also good to see Shelley finish in the top six. I’m pleased with the results today.
“Amy has looked very comfortable on this track,” he added. “It’s all about learning when you get to a new track. I’m also convinced we’ll see some good results from Amy in the next two races.”
Williams produced two consistent runs. She was third after the first run and then produced the third fastest second run to secure second overall.
Britain’s men missed out on the podium in their race, with Kristan Bromley finishing 10th and Ant Sawyer 14th. Andy Wood’s 24th time in the first run meant he missed out on a second run.
The 2008/9 World Cup campaign reaches its climax at the Park City track in the USA next week with the final two rounds of the competition on Wednesday 11th February and Thursday 12th February.
It will be followed by the World Championships in Lake Placid towards the end of the month.
Women’s results - Vancouver World Cup Gold: Marion Trott (GER) 1:49.86 Silver: AMY WILLIAMS (GBR) 1:50.39 Bronze: Anja Huber (GER) 1:50.71 6th: SHELLEY RUDMAN (GBR) 1:50.83
World Cup standings after six of eight rounds 1st: SHELLEY RUDMAN (GBR) 1148 points 2nd: Marion Trott (GER) 1137 points 3rd: Anja Huber (GER) 1131 points 5th: AMY WILLIAMS (GBR) 1034 points
World Cup standings after six of eight rounds 1st: Alexander Tretiakov (RUS) 1076 points 2nd: Florian Grassl (GER) 1067 points 3rd: Frank Rommel (GER) 1036 points 9th: KRISTAN BROMLEY (GBR) 890 points 13th: ANT SAWYER (GBR) 670 points 22nd: ADAM PENGILLY (GBR) 288 points 25th: ANDY WOOD (GBR) 226 points
Great Britain has an impressive track record in the sport of bob skeleton. British sliders have won medals at the last two Olympic Winter Games - Alex Coomber won bronze at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City and Shelley Rudman won silver at the 2006 Games in Torino.
Britain’s Kristan Bromley dominated the 2007/8 season, completing a hat-trick by winning the World Championships, the World Cup series and the European Championships. Bromley also won the World Cup series in 2003/4 and the European Championships in the 2003/4 and 2004/5 season, while Rudman captured the European Championship title St Moritz in 2009.
