Great Britain's newest Olympic champion says that she did not know she had won the Skeleton bob event until her coach told her.

27 year-old Amy Williams was more than half a second quicker than the rest of the field at the Vancouver games after the fourth and final heat, becoming the Britain's first individual winter Olympic gold medallist since the skater Robin Cousins triumphed in Lake Placid in 1980.

Interviewed by Today presenter James Naughtie, she admitted "my runs didn't feel that good compared with my training run".

And Ms Williams explained that she originally thought had only won a bronze medal in the event which saw her sliding headfirst down the track, face just inches from the ice, at speeds of up to 143 kph (89 mph).