4 hours ago
5
Team GB believes it can achieve “the greatest performance we have ever seen at a winter Games” and is targeting a record-breaking eight medals at next month’s Winter Olympics.
Britain’s previous best at a winter Games is the five medals secured in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018. However the Covid-affected Games in Beijing in 2022 proved to be a disappointment, with Team GB leaving China with just two curling medals.
But a glut of world cup and world championship medals over the last three years has left UK Sport, which funds Britain’s Olympic sports, confident that Team GB will bring home between four and eight medals from the Winter Olympics in Italy – and a further two-to-five medals from the Paralympic Winter Games.
“That range is ambitious,” said Dr Kate Baker, director of performance and people at UK Sport. “But the dead centre of that range will represent the greatest performance we have ever seen at a Winter Games.”
Baker’s confidence does not look misplaced. Mia Brookes is the snowboard slopestyle world champion, while Zoe Atkin is the freeski halfpipe world champion. Meanwhile Kirsty Muir in the freeski slopestyle and big air, and Charlotte Bankes in the snowboard cross, also have legitimate medal chances.
Meanwhile Matt Weston has regularly topped the rankings in the men’s skeleton, while his teammate Marcus Wyatt sits third. The men’s curling and mixed curling teams, led by Bruce Mouat, are considered strong medal contenders too.
And then there is Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who are aiming to win Britain’s first figure skating Olympic medal since Torvill and Dean in 1984.
Baker accepted that Winter Games had far more jeopardy than their summer counterpart. However she said the British athletes had won 21 world championship medals in the Milan-Cortina cycle, compared to eight in medals before Beijing.
“We are in the strongest position we have ever been going into a Games from a world championship performance perspective,” she said. “There is lots to be excited about.”
“What we are achieving in the winter-based sports is extraordinary for Great Britain. And we also have this incredible array of female athletes on snow, who are pulling extraordinary things out of the bag.”
Team GB’s chef de mission, Eve Muirhead OBE, said the potential of the team was “exceptionally high”.
“We’ve been meticulous in our preparations for Milano-Cortina 2026,” she said. “I know first-hand the difference the right environment can make at an Olympic Games, and our focus has been on creating the conditions that allow athletes to deliver when it matters most.
“We are heading to Italy as a credible force across more disciplines than ever before, and I’m excited to see the nation get behind them.”
