Australian Michelle Steele has finished the 2012/2013 FIBT Skeleton World Cup season with eighth place in the final event, held on next year's Olympic Winter Games course in Sochi, Russia.
Her team-mate, Lucy Chaffer, finished the event in 12th place, leaving Australian team manager, Dale Chapman, confident of the team's chances of a medal in 2014.
Steele's eighth place saw her finish in ninth place in the final 2012/2013 World Cup standings, while Chaffer finished the season equal 11th.
Despite the conditions being warmer than expected leading into the event, the Australian athletes still performed well, although a lack of training time before the event cost them valuable experience of the new track.
"The athletes gained a very good understanding of the track, and we as a team have learnt quite a lot about it. Unfortunately some of the execution of what we learnt was not quite up to the podium today, but we feel that we're certainly heading in the right direction to be in contention and pushing for those medals, come the Olympics in 12 months time," Chapman said.
"Because of the weather conditions we weren't able to test as much equipment as we were hoping to in the lead up to this event, and that didn't allow us to have a complete understanding and as complete a preparation as what we were hoping. But that's not to say that in 12 months time we won't be well on top of that.
"We've got a training event scheduled in Sochi from the 7th to the 14th of November and that will give us 20-odd runs, so we'll not only be better prepared, but we'll have a much greater understanding of the equipment that will at least point us in the right direction for preparation for the Olympic Games.
The Australian team enjoyed racing on the 1814 metre track, with Chapman predicting it will produce an exciting Olympic competition.
"The track is going to be a fantastic Games track. It's technical, but it's an easy track to get down safely, which is something that the organising committee and the international federation were seeking. It's more than technical enough to ensure that small mistakes will cost the athlete in down-time, and then you have to be on top of those driving errors, as well as ensuring you've selected the correct equipment to be competing on.
"I think it will suit our athletes as they're generally very consistent in their driving, and it's our job to get them into that path that they understand and execute what they need to.
"It's not necessarily a track that will favour larger athletes, it's the smaller athletes who will do well. We have no hesitation in saying that our athletes are fast enough and consistent enough in their driving styles to certainly be in medal contention.
"We're certainly not leaving Sochi with our tail between our legs, we're leaving Sochi with a great body of knowledge and believing that we have a solid opportunity to be medalling here at the Games," Chapman added.
The Sochi event saw American sliders Noelle Pikus-Pace and Katie Uhlaender finish first and second, with Germany's Anja Huber taking third place.
Germany's Marion Thees finished in fourth place, enough to see her win the FIBT Skeleton World Cup for a second time. She finished 72 points ahead of Uhlaender, with Pikus-Pace in third.
Her team-mate, Lucy Chaffer, finished the event in 12th place, leaving Australian team manager, Dale Chapman, confident of the team's chances of a medal in 2014.
Steele's eighth place saw her finish in ninth place in the final 2012/2013 World Cup standings, while Chaffer finished the season equal 11th.
Despite the conditions being warmer than expected leading into the event, the Australian athletes still performed well, although a lack of training time before the event cost them valuable experience of the new track.
"The athletes gained a very good understanding of the track, and we as a team have learnt quite a lot about it. Unfortunately some of the execution of what we learnt was not quite up to the podium today, but we feel that we're certainly heading in the right direction to be in contention and pushing for those medals, come the Olympics in 12 months time," Chapman said.
"Because of the weather conditions we weren't able to test as much equipment as we were hoping to in the lead up to this event, and that didn't allow us to have a complete understanding and as complete a preparation as what we were hoping. But that's not to say that in 12 months time we won't be well on top of that.
"We've got a training event scheduled in Sochi from the 7th to the 14th of November and that will give us 20-odd runs, so we'll not only be better prepared, but we'll have a much greater understanding of the equipment that will at least point us in the right direction for preparation for the Olympic Games.
The Australian team enjoyed racing on the 1814 metre track, with Chapman predicting it will produce an exciting Olympic competition.
"The track is going to be a fantastic Games track. It's technical, but it's an easy track to get down safely, which is something that the organising committee and the international federation were seeking. It's more than technical enough to ensure that small mistakes will cost the athlete in down-time, and then you have to be on top of those driving errors, as well as ensuring you've selected the correct equipment to be competing on.
"I think it will suit our athletes as they're generally very consistent in their driving, and it's our job to get them into that path that they understand and execute what they need to.
"It's not necessarily a track that will favour larger athletes, it's the smaller athletes who will do well. We have no hesitation in saying that our athletes are fast enough and consistent enough in their driving styles to certainly be in medal contention.
"We're certainly not leaving Sochi with our tail between our legs, we're leaving Sochi with a great body of knowledge and believing that we have a solid opportunity to be medalling here at the Games," Chapman added.
The Sochi event saw American sliders Noelle Pikus-Pace and Katie Uhlaender finish first and second, with Germany's Anja Huber taking third place.
Germany's Marion Thees finished in fourth place, enough to see her win the FIBT Skeleton World Cup for a second time. She finished 72 points ahead of Uhlaender, with Pikus-Pace in third.
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