Deas leads British squad for World Championships as she hunts first medal

The PyeongChang 2018 bronze medallist leads a six-strong British team for the season's main event in Whistler on March 7 and 8, heading into action with podium pedigree after bagging World Cup bronze as recently as Saturday.

A repeat of that honour would see Deas on the podium for the first time, looking to beat her previous World Championship best of seventh, achieved in Winterberg in 2015.

Madelaine Smith and Ashleigh Pittaway complete the women's team, with both set to make their debuts at the event.

Jerry Rice, also a 2018 Olympian, will take part in his second World Championships having finished 19th in Konigssee in 2017 while Jack Thomas and Marcus Wyatt complete the line-up.

"The World Championships are the showpiece event this season and these six athletes have worked hard all year to earn selection," said British Skeleton's interim performance director, Natalie Dunman.

"They've all stepped up this season in different ways and I'm confident they can do us proud in Whistler.

"We've named a strong squad - one that we believe can do well in Canada but one that also has the aim of the next Olympics in Beijing on their agenda.

"We might not have the same household names that competed at the Olympics, with Lizzy (Yarnold) having retired and Dom (Parsons) working on his PhD this year, but it says a lot about the strength in depth of the squad that we expect to be really competitive in Canada.

"We're looking forward to it and are genuinely excited about what this team can achieve."

Sportsbeat 2019