Kent’s Lizzy Yarnold was on the familiar terrain of the podium after she claimed skeleton bronze at the IBSF World Cup season opener in Lake Placid.

Yarnold, fifth at the halfway stage, sped down the course in a total time 1:50.46, which put her in top spot with four sliders to go, fellow Brit Laura Deas in second at that stage.

However, searing second runs from Austria’s Janine Flock and Elisabeth Vathje, of Canada, saw them take gold and silver respectively, pushing the Sochi 2014 Olympic champion into third place.

Double European champion Flock finished in a combined 1:50.13, 0.26 seconds ahead of Vathje and takes the top points haul of 225.

Yarnold has pedigree at Lake Placid, having scooped bronze there at the 2012 World Championships.

And despite missing out on gold, it was an impressive start to the season for the 29-year-old as she looks to build momentum ahead of defending her Olympic Winter Games title at PyeongChang 2018.

Deas, eighth after the first run, briefly led the field with a tremendous second effort, but ultimately fell out of the medal positions and had to settle for fifth with a combined time of 1:50.69.