Australians Emma Lincoln-Smith and Lucy Chaffer have finished in the top 10 of the Skeleton World Cup event in Germany, as difficult conditions tested the field of 26 sliders.

Lincoln-Smith was eighth, with Chaffer 10th as the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) scholarship holders finished well clear of many of the sport’s big stars, including Olympic Champion, Amy Williams, and World Cup points leader Olga Potylitsina.

Heavy snow had a major impact on round four of the Skeleton World Cup, held on the 1.4 kilometre track at Altenberg in Germany.

Lincoln-Smith and Chaffer were ninth and 11th after their first runs, but snow during the first run took its toll on many of the sliders, and it was subsequently cancelled.

This meant that the event became a one run shoot-out, and Australia’s sliders performed creditably to take top 10 finishes.

“It was a weird day,” Lincoln-Smith said. “It was hard getting back into it so quickly after Christmas and I was struggling to find my flow all week.

“I didn't feel a lot during this race. I’m usually quite nervous before a race, but just didn't feel anything so it was weird.

“However, I am happy with the top 10 result, but I know there’s lots more in store and am looking forward to the next race in Konigssee and really want a good result there.”

The eighth place sees Lincoln-Smith maintain her top 10 placing in the World Cup standings. She sits in ninth, just 55 points from a podium position.

After missing the previous World Cup meet in Winterberg, Chaffer was pleased to be back on the ice and in the top 10.

“It was an interesting race in some difficult conditions,” she said. “I was happy with my driving and both runs were clean.

“Unfortunately my push off the start let me down a bit, but I was happy to get the top 10 finish.”

Reigning World Cup Champion, Germany’s Anja Huber, won the event, just a tenth of a second clear of her countrywomen, Katharina Heinz, with Great Britain’s Shelley Rudman in third place.

Russia’s Ogo Potylitsina could only manage 16th place after crashing in the cancelled first run, and has slipped to third in the World Cup standings, behind Canadian Melissa Hollingsworth and German Marion Thees.

Round five of the Skeleton World Cup season will be held in Konigssee in Germany next weekend.

Meanwhile, the Australian women’s bobsled pairing of Astrid Radjenovic and Ebony Gorincu finished ninth place in the World Cup at Altenberg on Saturday.

In what is the best ever result from an Australian women’s bobsled team, Radjenovic and Gorincu finished just over two seconds behind the winning German team, but ahead of teams from Switzerland, Russia, Belgium and Romania.

The result puts the Aussie pair 13th in the World Cup standings from a field of 21 teams.