Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold takes year out from skeleton

Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain celebrates winning the gold medal during the Women's Skeleton on Day 7 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Sliding Center Sanki on February 14, 2014
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Great Britain's Olympic skeleton champion Lizzy Yarnold decides to skip the upcoming World Cup campaign so that she can "refresh" and "come back even more motivated".

Olympic skeleton champion Lizzy Yarnold has decided to take a season-long break from competing.

The 26-year-old, who won gold for Great Britain at last year's Winter Olympics in Sochi, will miss the forthcoming World Cup campaign.

"It will be hard to watch others compete without me, but I really feel like this is the right time for me to refresh, take stock and come back even more motivated for the future," said Yarnold.

Yarnold is still keen on defending her Olympic title at the next Games in Pyeongchang in 2018, and if she does so she will become the first slider and the first British Winter Olympian to achieve the feat.

Elizabeth Yarnold of Great Britain makes a practice skeleton run ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Sanki Sliding Center on February 5, 2014
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