Team GB believes it can achieve “the greatest Olympic performance we have ever seen at a winter Games” and is targeting a record-breaking eight medals next month in Milan-Cortina.
That bullish prediction is significantly higher than Britain’s previous best of five medals, secured in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018. And while the Covid-affected Games in Beijing in 2022 were a disappointment, with just two curling medals, officials are confident the team can soar to fresh heights in Italy.
“We are in the strongest position we have ever been going into a Games from a world championship performance perspective,” said Dr Kate Baker, director of performance and people at UK Sport. “There is lots to be excited about.
“We know that our nation has a love affair with winter sports. And whether that’s through Torvill and Dean or memories of the Stone of Destiny, or from watching Ski Sunday and Dancing on Ice, there is real potential here to capture the hearts and minds of the British public.”
Baker’s comments came as UK Sport, which funds Britain’s Olympic sports, set a medal target of four to eight medals from the Winter Olympics – and a further two-to-five medals from the Paralympic Winter Games.
“That range is ambitious,” Baker said. “But the dead centre of that range will represent the greatest Olympic performance we have ever seen at a Winter Games.”
Baker’s confidence does not look misplaced. Mia Brookes is the 2023 snowboard slopestyle world champion, while Zoe Atkin is the 2025 freeski halfpipe world champion. Kirsty Muir in the freeski slopestyle and big air, and Charlotte Bankes in the snowboard cross, also have legitimate medal chances.
“We have this incredible array of female athletes on snow who are pulling extraordinary things out of the bag,” Baker said. “So whether it’s in world cups, world championships or at X Games, the kind of performances that we’re seeing from Mia Brookes, Kirsty Muir, Zoe Atkin, and Charlotte Bankes give us real optimism about what could happen at this Games.”
Elsewhere Matt Weston has regularly topped the rankings in the men’s skeleton, while his teammate Marcus Wyatt sits third. While Baker described the men’s curling team, led by Bruce Mouat as “rock stars” who deserved their billing as gold medal favourites. Then there are Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who are aiming to win Britain’s first figure skating Olympic medal since Torvill and Dean in 1984 after winning world championship bronze last year.
And while Baker accepted that the winter Games had far more jeopardy than its summer counterpart, given the nature of many of the high-risk events, she insisted the team should be optimistic.
“We know that on the day, anything can happen,” she said. “You catch an edge and it all goes wrong. Something happens in a split second and it changes your destiny in the biggest stage of all. But we also recognise that we have extraordinary talent. And that gives us real confidence that, on our very best day, we could be reaching the top end of that medal range.”
Team GB’s chef de mission, Eve Muirhead, agreed that the potential of the team was “exceptionally high”. “We’ve been meticulous in our preparations for Milano-Cortina 2026,” said Muirhead, who won curling gold in Beijing four years ago. “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.”
