Brisbane’s Jaclyn Narracott has made Olympic history by winning Australia’s first sliding medal with a silver in the women’s skeleton.
The medal was Australia’s fourth at the Beijing Olympics, joining a gold, a silver and one bronze to make it our most successful Winter Games.
Australia returned with three medals in 2010, 2014 and 2018.
The 31-year-old Narracott finished second behind 21-year-old German Hannah Neise on the difficult “Ice Dragon” course in Yanqing.
Neise claimed gold with a four-run time of 4 minutes, 7.62 seconds, with Narracott in 4:08.24 and Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands third in 4:08.46.
A former track and field athlete who started skeleton racing in 2012, Narracott only won her first World Cup Series race in mid-January this year at St Mortiz for her first podium finish in a World Series event.
“Words can’t describe it,” Narracott said after the event. “We’ve never won a sliding sport medal.”
“Creating your dream twice in two races, it doesn’t get any better,” she added,
Geoff Lipshut, Australia’s chef de mission, described the result as a “remarkable sporting achievement”.
“And it’s about an individual’s incredible journey of belief in what they’re doing and turning it into the most fabulous outcome.” he said.
Narracott is married to her coach Dom Parsons, who won bronze for Britain at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.
The Australian, who skipped several major races last year to avoid getting COVID-19, has spent a lot of time training in her driveway in the UK in the past 12 months, according to BBC commentators.
Other Australian medalists at Beijing include Jakara Anthony, who won gold in the moguls, snowboard halfpipe silver medallist Scott James, and snowboard slopestyle bronze medal winner Jess Coady.
-with agencies
