WHISTLER, Canada—Amy Williams dashed at 142.2 km/h into the pages of Olympic history when she won the first individual gold medal for Britain in 30 years on Friday in women’s skeleton.
The 27-year-old from Cambridge set a new track record of 53.68 seconds in her third run on Friday prior to taking gold on the fourth and final run with a total time of three minutes and 35.64 seconds, achieving her gold with a happy and easy-going mindset.
“At the top I just kind of smiled at myself, saw my coaches and friends on the side, and you know, I just thought I’ve got nothing to lose and I was happy with how I performed,” said Williams, who won a silver medal at the 2009 world championships.
“I just went down and I mean half the track’s a blur, I can’t even remember what I really did. I just got to the bottom and saw a smile and knew I had done well.”
On a track scarred by last week’s death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and marred by crashes from bobsleigh training, Williams steered four almost perfect runs, defending her victory.
Britain hasn’t gotten an individual gold at the Winter Games since Robin Cousins won men’s figure skating in Lake Placid 1980.
The 27-year-old from Cambridge set a new track record of 53.68 seconds in her third run on Friday prior to taking gold on the fourth and final run with a total time of three minutes and 35.64 seconds, achieving her gold with a happy and easy-going mindset.
“At the top I just kind of smiled at myself, saw my coaches and friends on the side, and you know, I just thought I’ve got nothing to lose and I was happy with how I performed,” said Williams, who won a silver medal at the 2009 world championships.
“I just went down and I mean half the track’s a blur, I can’t even remember what I really did. I just got to the bottom and saw a smile and knew I had done well.”
On a track scarred by last week’s death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and marred by crashes from bobsleigh training, Williams steered four almost perfect runs, defending her victory.
Britain hasn’t gotten an individual gold at the Winter Games since Robin Cousins won men’s figure skating in Lake Placid 1980.
