Sochi 2014: Shelley Rudman and Lizzy Yarnold tipped to win medals

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Shelley RudmanImage source, Getty Images

British Skeleton head coach Andi Schmid is tipping Shelley Rudman and Lizzy Yarnold to win medals at next year's Sochi Winter Olympics.

Austrian-born Schmid masterminded Amy Williams's gold in Vancouver in 2010., external

Schmid believes world champion Rudman and World Championship bronze medallist Yarnold can follow in Williams's path.

"Shelley already has her medal and a clear goal possibly to win the gold. There is also a good chance for Lizzy if everything goes right," he said.

Media caption,

Winter Olympic dreams drive Yarnold

Rudman, 32, won Olympic silver in Turin in 2006, external and her triumph at the World Championships in St Moritz earlier this year raised hopes of going one better in the Russian city.

Meanwhile, former world junior champion Yarnold, 25, won last year's equivalent World Cup race in Calgary in her first full season on the senior circuit, and went on to take bronze at the 2012 World Championship.

Donna Creighton, 28, is the third member of the British women's team while the men's challenge will be headed by Rudman's partner Kristan Bromley and rising star Dominic Parsons.

The 28-year-old Parsons slid to a ninth place finish at the World Championships earlier this year, but insisted he is not feeling under pressure as he looks to book his place in Sochi.

Parsons said: "This is obviously a very big season for me but the Olympics are still a long way off.

"It's about performing well on the World Cup circuit and I see no reason why I can't keep improving."

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