Australian skeleton racer Jaclyn Narracott claims sensational silver at Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games

Australian Jaclyn Narracott has won a superb silver medal in the women's skeleton at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre.

The 31-year-old from Queensland finished second, behind 21-year-old German star Hannah Neise on the testing «Ice Dragon» course in Yanqing.

It is Australia's first sliding medal at a Winter Olympics.

Narracott, a former track and field athlete who started skeleton racing in 2012, only won her first World Cup Series race in mid-January this year at St Mortiz – her first podium of any sort in a World Series event.

Now, the 31-year-old Queenslander has claimed a silver medal in just her second Olympic Games against a stacked field of skeleton racers.

Narracott came into the final two rounds in the «unreal» position of leading the field, taking a 0.21-second advantage into Saturday's final two runs over Germany's Neise.

Showing zero sign of any overnight nerves, she then set her best time of the competition, a track record to boot, in her opening run on Saturday to lay down a marker.

However, that lead quickly evaporated when 21-year-old Neise flew out of the blocks, bettering Narracott's short-lived track record by a whopping 0.35 seconds to claim the lead by a mere 0.14 seconds with a run to go.

The penultimate slider to go in the final round, Narracott was overjoyed after moving into the provisional lead, overhauling Dutch slider Kimberley Bos by 0.22 seconds, covering her eyes in disbelief.

However, Neise's buffer proved to be too much, with the German claiming victory by 0.62 seconds.

Australia's chef de mission Geoff Lipshut heaped praise on Narracott – Australia's fourth medallist at this year's Games.

«I just think it's a remarkable sporting achievement,» Lipshut said.

«And it's about an individual's