In the men's competition, Florian notched times of 4.84sec and 4.89 on the first day, followed by an improved 4.73 and 4.75 to finish on a winning total of 19.21.

Youngster Austin Hayes had held an overnight lead after his first two heats - 4.83 and 4.86.

His final run of 4.72 was the best time recorded at the event , but a 4.85 on his third saw Hayes finish in the silver-medal position on 19.26.

The bronze went to Darryl Payne Jr with 19.51, after times of 4.94 and 4.93 on the first day and 4.82 twice on the second day.

Andy St Fleur was 0.05sec short of the podium with 19.56.

Florian said afterwards he was pleased to clinch victory going into the new season.

"Competing in this new facility was amazing," he commented.

"I’m so glad we finally have a world-class facility to train at right in our own backyard.

"I feel even more prepared for this season than I have in years past and can't wait to get back to sliding and racing again.

"I’m looking forward to the new talent that we have coming up.

"We certainly have some fast pushers and I can’t wait to see them start sliding and improving!"

Ro dominated the women's competition, taking the lead with 5.21 in the first head and bettering her time in the three subsequent heats as she posted 5.18, 5.01 and 4.99 to finish on 20.71.

Her margin of victory was 0.32sec , as Michelle Toukan came second with 20.71.

The silver medallist clocked times of 5.25, 5.30, 5.09 and 5.07 in her four heats.

Leah Fair's 20.92 comfortably secured bronze as she recorded heats of 5.32, 5.44, 5.07 and 5.09.

The nearest challengers to the podium were Erin Brumley and AJ Andrews, who both pushed overall times of 21.96.

"The ice house has been a game-changer in allowing us to get some quality reps in while focusing on certain aspects of the push," Ro said of USA Bobsled and Skeleton's new facilities.

"It’s been a great way to get some momentum into the sliding season."

The American skeleton head coach Tuffy Latour explained that the Push Championships form an important part of preparation for the new season, and the opportunity to use the new iced start house was very welcome.

"It was really exciting to see both veterans and rookies step up and take spots in the top three," Latour said.

"Competing for the first time in the new iced start house in Lake Placid was outstanding, and we’re incredibly grateful to the Olympic Regional Development Authority and New York State for providing these state-of-the-art facilities for our team.

"Push Championships don’t have a bearing on skeleton team selection, but it’s a great opportunity for us as coaches to gather data on the new facility, and for the athletes to gauge where they are with their training going into the season.

"We are looking forward to seeing how all of these athletes develop over this year."

Skeleton athletes on the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Cup squad are due to depart for Beijing this week to begin international competition at a Winter Olympic test event in Yanqing.

The Beijing 2022 Olympic Games are due to be held from February 4 to 22.

The United States missed out on the podium in both skeleton events at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, but Noelle Pikus-Pace earned a silver in the women's competition and Matthew Antoine in the men's at Sochi 2014.