Hannah Campbell-Pegg finished 23rd in the women’s luge, breaking the 50-second barrier in all four runs of the competition at Cesana Pariol.

Campbell-Pegg clocked a combined time of 3:17.539. She saved her best run for last, clocking an impressive 49.038 on her fourth and final run.

The 23-year-old averaged 121.8 km/hour on her final run. She went into the fourth run in 23rd place and maintained her position.

She was 24th after the first run in 49.577 and then sat in 23rd position after both the second and third run.

Campbell-Pegg, who was originally aiming for the 2010 Vancouver Games, set a goal coming into the competition to make four clear runs - a feat she achieved with ease.

“I have learnt that I can do this,” she said. “It’s more about self belief for me now. I was nervous with the long delays and just calmed myself down and refocussed.”

Campbell-Pegg’s fastest time came in the second run when she posted a time of 49.350. She followed with 49.574 in the third run.

She was consistent throughout, ranking between 24th and 29th in her starts and her three split times in all legs.

Australia’s best performance in women’s luge came at the Albertville 1992 Games where Diane Ogle placed 21st.

The competition saw six competitors crash out, and Campbell-Pegg said that was more a result of training opportunities than any danger on the track.

“A lot of people haven’t had a lot of runs,” she said.

“It’s difficult, but that’s the challenge of the course.”

Reigning champion Sylke Otto of Germany took gold with a combined time of 3:07.979. Otto led a German clean sweep of the medals, with Silke Kraushaar winning silver in 3:08.115 and Tatjana Huefner bronze in 3:08.46.

Campbell-Pegg finished 9.560 seconds behind Otto. Thirty competitors contested the luge from 15 countries.

Kevin Diggerson/AOC
Torino