USA's Erin Hamlin delighted with bronze medal

United States luge athlete Erin Hamlin has said that she would like to see the sport develop in her homeland, after her success at the Winter Olympics.

The 27-year-old became the first American to ever win an Olympic singles luge medal on Tuesday when she came third in the final.

Hamlin hopes that more people in the United States will be inspired to take up the sport after watching her performance in Sochi.

"Getting on the podium at the Olympics is pretty much what we all do this for," she told reporters. "It definitely has its own lustre to it.

"Hopefully, it means it gets a little more attention and we get some funding and spread the numbers and get a lot more kids involved going forward. And we just get stronger."

Germany's Natalie Geisenberger and Tatjana Huefner claimed the gold and silver medals respectively.