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HAVING JUST announced her decision to take a year our from training and racing we’re delighted to bring you this recent interview with skeleton British Gold Medal winner Lizzy Yarnold.

Lizzy won the hearts of the nation when she won Gold at Sochi and her down-to-earth personality and ease when talking about her sport in front of the cameras quickly made her a household name.

In this exclusive interview we talk to Lizzy about her journey into the sport as well as her pride to be a role model for young people and girls.

What kind of sports were you involved in when you were younger and what levels did you reach in them?

I tried every sport growing up – I loved playing netball, hockey and rounders at school. Athletics (heptathlon and pole vault) was my real passion and I was lucky enough to compete for my county for eight years.

When were you first introduced to skeleton and had you been interested in the sport for a while?

I always loved sport as there was always a sport that everyone enjoyed or was good at. I found the skeleton through a talent search when I was 18, so quite late for a professional sports person. It took you five years to progress to world champion in the sport.

What or who do you attribute to helping you reach such success in a relatively short amount of time?

The sport was already in fantastic shape with the best coaches and support staff in place so when I started everything was ready to go. The sport had high expectations of all new athletes and so my expectations of myself went up as well. We had lots of funding to make sure we could travel abroad and train and not worry about paying for it – so there were lots of things that helped. I wanted to be good at the sport and I enjoyed sliding – that really helps!

What successes have you had this year?

Last season I won the World Championships and the European Championships.

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How did it feel to be awarded an MBE and where does that rank compared to your Olympic Gold Medal?

Oh gosh being awarded an MBE was insane, a very awesome and unexpected honour. Meeting the Queen just for a moment or two was a truly privileged moment in my life and I’ll never forget it.

Could you tell us more about your passion to encourage young people to take up more sport and also to help young girls feel better about their bodies?

I do feel a responsibility to share my experiences with young people in the hope that it might just help one person. I found skeleton relatively late but always held out hope that I would be a professional athlete one day. I think it’s really important to show young people that if you work hard and stay passionate you can achieve your dreams. I also feel that young women in particular should be encouraged to be who they are – regardless of shape and size. I am a strong, powerful athlete and proud of it!