Jazmin Sawyers described claiming an Olympic silver medal as the best moment of her life after she provided Great Britain with the perfect end to the Youth Winter Games in the two-woman bobsleigh competition.

The Millfield School pupil, alongside pilot Mica McNeill, produced a blistering second run of 55.66secs to snatch a silver medal in Austria on Sunday, splitting two Dutch teams on the podium.

Lying in fourth place after a first run of 56.29, Sawyers and McNeill had it all to do in their final outing but produced their best effort just when they needed it most.

"Everything was on that final run – we knew that we had to give it out all to grab a medal," said Sawyers.

"After our second run we thought it was going to be bronze, so to get silver is superb. There is no better moment than this in my life."

After bringing the curtain down on the inaugural running of the event in style, 17-year-old Sawyers struggled to contain her delight at landing Britain's third medal of the Games.

"It is just an incredible feeling," she said. "To have been fourth after the first run and then produce exactly when we needed it to secure a medal feels amazing.

"We were not happy with our first run at all. It was worse than our training runs, so we didn't know what was going to happen, but the second one couldn't have gone much better.

"We're really pleased. The push went well and, before we even knew our place, we were saying to each other that there was nothing more that we could have done.

"Mica drove amazingly well on the second run. Our first run wasn't the best but for her to come back and drive like she did is just amazing. We said to each other that we had to pretend it was a new day and a new race.

Meanwhile, fellow Millfield pupils James Lelliott and Ollie Biddulph were fifth in the men's two-man bobsleigh.

The duo ended up just one tenth of a second outside of the medals after a blistering second run but were still more than satisfied with their final result.

"It is unbelievable," said Lelliott. "We were hoping to get in the top six, so to manage fifth is an amazing result. We gave it our all in the second run and we're delighted."

Craig Considine, headmaster at Millfield, added: "This is a fantastic achievement and Millfield is extremely proud of Jazmin, Ollie and James.

"We are delighted to have played a part in nurturing their sporting and all-round development."

The British Olympic Association prepares and leads British athletes at the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. It works in partnership with sport's national governing bodies to enhance Olympic success and is responsible for championing the Olympic values. Visit www.olympics.org.uk for more details.