Defending champion Lizzy Yarnold was third and second on the final day of skeleton training at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang on Wednesday.

The Sochi 2014 gold medallist appears to be finding form at the right time ahead of the four-run, two-day competition at the Olympic Sliding Centre in Alpensia, which begins on Friday.

Great Britain team-mate Laura Deas was seventh and fourth on her two runs on Wednesday, the fifth and sixth runs of three days of training.

Lizzy Yarnold was third and second in skeleton training on Wednesday
Lizzy Yarnold was third and second in skeleton training on Wednesday (David Davies/PA Images)

From six runs and three days of training, Deas has finished first two times and Yarnold once.

They have been outside the podium places five times altogether, with Yarnold finishing fourth and sixth and Deas twice finishing seventh and once fourth.

The results bode well for the competition.

Laura Deas
Great Britain’s Laura Deas is sliding well at the Pyeongchang Olympics (David Davies/PA Images)

After underwhelming World Cup seasons for both British sliders, the improved performances could be attributed, in part at least, to innovations in equipment.

Sliders may tinker with equipment and priorities in training. Some may start at full tilt, while others will not, and some may use different runners – the metal which is in contact with the ice.

Deas, a 29-year-old from Wrexham, claimed her first World Cup win in November 2015 and was fourth at the 2017 World Championships.

Briton Amy Williams won the 2010 Olympic skeleton title
Briton Amy Williams won the 2010 Olympic skeleton title (Andrew Milligan/PA Images)

British sliders have a strong pedigree in the event and have claimed the last two women’s skeleton titles,  Yarnold succeeding 2010 winner Amy Williams as champion.

Shelley Rudman won Olympic silver in Turin, while Alex Coomber took bronze in Salt Lake City four years earlier, when the women’s event made its Games debut.