British · Sevenoaks, Kent, England · Born 31 October 1988British skeleton racer who became the first Briton to defend a Winter Olympic title, having been talent-spotted for the sport through a national scheme despite having no prior sliding experience.
Elizabeth Anne Yarnold was born on 31 October 1988 in Sevenoaks, Kent, and competed as a heptathlete in her youth, inspired by watching Denise Lewis win Olympic gold in 2000. In 2008 she joined UK Sport's Girls4Gold talent identification scheme alongside 1,500 other young women, and was one of around a hundred identified as a potential fit for skeleton - a sport she admitted knowing nothing about, having hoped instead to be selected for modern pentathlon. Yarnold began competing in October 2010 while still working full-time at an insurance company in London, whose underwriter offered financial support after learning of her ambitions; she named her sled 'Mervyn' after him. She became World Junior Champion in 2012 and won the 2013-14 Skeleton World Cup title heading into her first Olympics. At the 2014 Sochi Games, she was the fastest skater on every run, setting new track records twice, to win gold by nearly a full second - Great Britain's tenth Winter Olympic gold in history. The following season, Yarnold completed a rare grand slam of major titles, winning both the World and European Championships. At the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, after three winless years, she produced a track-record run in the decisive fourth heat to defend her Olympic title by a margin of 0.36 seconds over Germany's Jacqueline Lölling, becoming the first British athlete in any sport to successfully defend a Winter Olympic title and, with two golds, Britain's most decorated Winter Olympian. She retired immediately after, later revealing the extent of the chronic back pain she competed through, and has since become a mother of three, mentored young athletes, and worked as a BBC pundit, including at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.
Becoming the first British athlete in any sport to successfully defend a Winter Olympic title, and Britain's most decorated Winter Olympian
How They Played
Technically precise skeleton racer known for exceptional composure in high-pressure final heats and remarkably consistent sliding across demanding tracks
Lasting Impact
Regarded as one of Britain's greatest Winter Olympians, whose journey from an unfunded talent-scheme discovery to double Olympic champion in under a decade remains a landmark story in British winter sport
Career Honours
- 2x Olympic Gold Medalist (2014, 2018)
- First British athlete in any sport to defend a Winter Olympic title
- Britain's most decorated Winter Olympian
- 2015 World and European Champion (grand slam of major titles)
British Athletes