Connect with us

Overcoming debilitating vestibular condition at Olympics

Culture

Overcoming debilitating vestibular condition at Olympics

Lizzy Yarnold has retained her skeleton title making it Great Britain’s most successful day in the Winter Olympics, Olivia Kemp reports

The 29-year-old skeleton athlete, Lizzy Yarnold, has retained her Winter Games title and is also the first athlete in this particular sport to do so. This left Laura Deas with the bronze title, the humble runner up told BBC Sport: “I just can’t believe it’s happening. It’s like a dream. I thought it would be snatched away at the last minute. I’m so pleased for Lizzy too”. Watch Lizzy Yarnold win the title here.

Since winning the gold medal four years ago, Yarnold has had massive problems with her back and has suffered with a debilitating vestibular condition leading to extreme sickness. After she took a year out of the sport to regain her strength, she claimed the World Championship bronze medal last season but hadn’t won a race since her return to the Winter Games.

Yarnold told BBC Sport: “It means so much to me, at time over the last 4 years it’s been so hard and I’ve doubted myself and wondered whether I could get back to where I wanted to be, but the team never lost faith and that’s why I’m back here on the podium”.

Yarnold said she considered pulling out of the event on Saturday, meaning her successful title was close to not happening at all. She said: “I was feeling awful and I couldn’t breathe with this chest problem, it was the team who gave me the belief I could carry on”. See the live report here.

Looks like it was all down to team spirit when it came to her winning title and she truly couldn’t have got to where she is without them. Lizzy Yarnold has truly brought pride to Great Britain and has made the British public proud! Lizzy Yarnold’s Twitter.

 

More in Culture

To Top