Nicola Minichiello and Jacqueline Davies announced the end of their women's bobsleigh partnership after finishing in a disappointing ninth place at Cesana Pariol.

Hopes were high the British pair would belatedly push for a medal on the decisive third and fourth runs having recorded one of the fastest times on Monday.

But Minichiello and Davies actually dropped three places from their overnight position of sixth with two nervy runs to finish well over two seconds behind winners Germany One.

Afterwards Minichiello said a partnership which had claimed a World Championship silver last year as well as third place in a World Cup race in Altenberg last month was over.

Minichiello said: "We are both going back into separate teams next year because Jackie is going to go back to driving.

"We both started as drivers and it is going to be nice to have more than one team on the World Cup circuit next year. It is a new beginning and a new chapter for us."

The British pair had headed to the Olympics tipped as one of the best British medal chances but practice run times had them trailing until Minichiello pulled one great run out of the bag.

But that second run - which left both the leading German bobs trailing by more than one quarter of a second - was not built upon today, leaving Britain still searching for its second medal of the Games.

Davies added: "It is disappointing but the whole experience was second to none.

"It is the pinnacle of anybody's sporting career to come to the Olympics because so many don't manage to get there."