SHELLEY Rudman will sit out the forthcoming Skeleton World Cup campaign after extending her maternity leave following the birth of her second child.

The 2006 Winter Olympic silver medallist, from Pewsey, has returned to live in Wiltshire with fiance and former world champion Kristan Bromley, who has announced his retirement from competition.

Rudman, whose eldest daughter Ella is eight next month, may look to compete again once her maternity leave following the birth of seven-month-old Sofia has concluded, saying: "I love the sport and competing. I intend to carry on with my maternity leave but I haven’t ruled out a return to the sport.

"I’ve got qualifications and experience in a variety of things, from teaching, performance coaching and mentoring to Sports Science and PR, so there are lots of options I can explore if I don’t come back to sliding,'' the 34 year old told the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton website thebbsa.co.uk.

Rudman has won every major honour possible in skeleton since starting her sliding career in 2002.

She was the first British woman ever to win the World Championships when she triumphed in St Moritz in 2013, twice European Champion in 2009 and 2011, overall World Cup Champion in 2012 and World Student Games Champion in 2005.

She has competed at three Winter Olympics, was runner up in the World Cup on three occasions and won two silver and two bronze medals in the European Championships, as well as being British number one between 2004 and 2012.

"My Olympic silver medal was an absolute dream moment and one which always captures the media attention but, for me, my World Championship title in St Moritz was a real highlight,'' she said.

"It was my favourite track, the first time a British woman had won that title and I had my best supporter - my daughter Ella - there with me as well. It’s the only natural ice track we compete on and there’s a lot of British heritage there so it’s got a very unique feel to it and it was a very special place for a very special achievement.

“The overall World Cup title was the hardest one to win because you have to be really consistent over the course of the season. That’s really tough when you have to take into account injury niggles, illness, extensive back-to-back travel, the different types of track and the weather and so forth.

“In my last five years I haven’t been out of the podium places in the overall World Cup and that’s a really great achievement for me.

"It’s always nice to win something and to hold a trophy or a medal but I was very keen to enjoy longevity of high performance in my career and I’m really, really proud of that. To have been mixing it with the very best year after year and to have been on the podium for the amount of time I have is very special.”

British Skeleton’s Performance Director, Andi Schmid, has paid tribute to Rudman, saying: “Shelley took British Skeleton to another level. She performed at the highest level time and time again and her achievements were sensational.

“Her performance in the World Championships in St Moritz in 2013 when she destroyed the field was absolutely extraordinary. She was one of the most talented athletes in our programme but she was also so consistent and being so strong over a long period of time is something that Shelley deserves a huge amount of credit for.

"Shelley was also a model for the next generation to follow. She was someone the other athletes looked up to or wanted to emulate.

"She has been a leading light across an extended period of time and her achievements have reflected so positively on British Skeleton as a whole.

"We have a really talented group of athletes currently in the senior squad or moving up through the ranks and Shelley’s success has played an important part in ensuring that British Skeleton continues to be successful on the world stage.”

Neither Bromley or Rudman, competed last season.

Bromley made history in 2008 when he became the first slider to claim the triple crown by winning the World Championships, European Championships and overall World Cup titles in the same season.

The 43-year-old also secured the overall World Cup title in 2004 and European Championship golds in 2004 and 2005, as well as a European silver medal in 2009 and a World Cup bronze in 2000.

He featured at four Olympic Games, finishing fifth in Turin - where Rudman won silver - in 2006.

Bromley will remain involved in skeleton through his sports technology company, Bromley Sports.