Lizzy Yarnold Wiki: 5 Facts To Know About 2018 Olympics Gold Medalist Skeleton Racer

Elizabeth Anne Yarnold was born in 1988. She is a British skeleton racer who joined the Great Britain national squad in the year 2010. Winning continuous Olympic gold medals in 2014 and 2018, she is regarded as the most successful British Winter Olympian and the most successful Olympic Skeleton athlete of all time from any nation. She won the 2013–14 Skeleton World Cup and then she got the gold medal in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Yarnold was obviously selected to be one of the two women skeleton drivers representing Team GB at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, and from there, she went on to become the first person to defend an Olympic gold in skeleton and the first British athlete to defend a Winter Olympic title. Yarnold was chosen as the flag bearer for Great Britain at the Pyeongchang opening ceremony. Born in Sevenoaks, Kent, Yarnold studied at St Michael's Preparatory School in the village of Otford, Kent. She then went to Maidstone Grammar School for Girls in the Kent county town of Maidstone. Since choosing the skeleton sled as her career, Yarnold has lived in Bath, Somerset. In 2018 she tweeted that she has now started residing in Portsmouth. On 1 May 2016, Yarnold married engineer James Roche. James Roche as an engineer co-designed Yarnold's sled while working for McLaren Applied Technologies. In September 2017 she was diagnosed with vestibular disorder affecting the inner ear. Earlier in the year she had started suffering a recurrence of dizzy spells that had first troubled her in 2012 and again in late 2014. She withdrew from the 2014 World Cup event in Calgary, AB, Canada, in December that year due to dizziness. She took an extended break over Christmas and returned to competition in January 2015 at a World Cup event in Altenberg, Germany.

Yarnold was initially a heptathlete but after watching Denise Lewis at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she was inspired to take up the sport. In 2008, Yarnold participated in UK Sport's Girls4Gold talent search scheme. "At the Girls4Gold selection, I desperately wanted to be picked for modern pentathlon. But they said I'd be more suited to skeleton instead. I must admit I'd never heard of it but I've never looked back since." But later, she began competing in skeleton racing in 2010, winning her first official race in the Europa Cup at Igls in November. The next day she got her second win. She joined the Great Britain National Squad in 2010. In seasons that followed, Yarnold improved her skeleton-racing skills, learned different courses, and managed to achieve the athletic performance required to compete at World Cup level. She finished the 2011/12 season in 9th position, thereby becoming the junior World Champion and a bronze medalist in the senior World Championships in 2012. During the 2013/14 season, it was apparent that Yarnold was the new favorite topping the charts everytime. She won the opening race in Calgary. Yarnold eventually secured the World Cup Championship at the last race of the season in Königssee and also the Olympic gold medal at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Yarnold's gold medal was the tenth gold medal ever achieved by British athletes in 90 years of Winter Olympics competition. Yarnold was inducted as the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to skeleton racing. After her success in the Olympics and World Cup, Yarnold completed a career in grand slam in 2014/15 by becoming European Champion in February 2015 and World Champion in the next month. In September 2015, Yarnold announced that she would take a year-long break and miss the 2015/16 skeleton season due to burnout. Lizzy Yarnold became the first Briton to successfully defend a Winter Olympics title. She revealed in an interview then that how close she had come to pulling out of the Games because a virus that had laid her low for a week. “After the first run yesterday I was almost at the point of pulling out,” said Yarnold. “My chest infection was stopping me from breathing. I just tried to get the second run down and then fight another day today. If it wasn’t for my physio Louise Turner telling me to go down again, I’m not sure I would be here." “I was dizzy, I couldn’t breathe. I have no idea what happened. I’ve been ill for a week. It’s been a great week. We have the doctors, I have my physio Louise. Everyone is supporting me in helping people get here. Athletes are people too. Now I’m going to sleep for weeks. The emotions are gratitude to the whole team to get here, and relief, and exhaustion. And lots of crying."

The net worth of the skeleton racer is currently unavailable.

Lizzy Yarnold is quite active on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Her Twitter account is @TheYarnold. She is available on Instagram @therealyarnold. Lizzy Yarnold also has an account on Facebook @Yarnold.Lizzy with a huge fan following. She constantly uploads her photos and comments on her social media accounts.