Australians Lucy Chaffer and Emma Lincoln-Smith have taken their second top 10 finishes in a week, with seventh and eighth placings in round five of the Skeleton World Cup, in Konigssee, Germany.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship holders once again showed the significant improvement that they have made this season, and both are now regarded as real threats in a competition dominated by European and North American athletes.

Held on the refrigerated track at Konigssee, the 1250 metre course is one of the favourites of sliders in the World Cup.

The track includes the challenging Kreisal turn, which can make or break a slider’s run, depending on how well they exit the 360 degree turn.

Chaffer's seventh placing from the 26 sliders was just shy of her career-best sixth, but her consistency over the two runs put her right in contention, with her second run the fifth fastest.

“I'm really happy with the result,” Chaffer said.

“On the first run I made a small mistake in the straight and it cost me some time, but I was happy with how I slid the second run and with the overall result.”

Lincoln-Smith was in seventh place after the first run, and made the equal fastest start of 5.08 seconds on run two, however a poor exit to the 360 degree Kreisal turn cost her valuable time and eventually saw her finish eighth.

“I messed up the second run exit of Kreisal and didn't steer the required amount with the effectiveness that I needed, and I paid the price,” Lincoln-Smith said.

“I’m happy for my teammate, Lucy, though, and thought she slid really well.”

The double top 10 result has seen the Australian sliders move further up the leaderboard in the crucial World Cup standings.

Lincoln-Smith is in seventh place and is still a realistic chance of finishing the season on the podium, while Chaffer’s result has catapulted her from 16th to 12th place in the overall standings.

Britain’s Shelley Rudman took the overall victory, her first of the season and the fifth different winner in as many events. She finished half a second ahead of Germany’s Marion Thees, while Canadian Melissa Hollingsworth took the bronze medal.

Round six of the Skeleton World Cup will be held in St Moritz, in Italy, next weekend.

Meanwhile, the Australian women’s bobsled pairing of Astrid Radjenovic and Ebony Gorincu have taken their second top 10 result in a row, finishing 10th at Konigssee after another consistent performance.