In comparison to the Summer Olympics, Team GB’s Winter Olympic prospects can often appear as bleak however, Milano Cortina may set the stage for this to change! Previously, Team GB have never won more than 1 gold in a Winter Olympics, with our best medal table results coming in 2014 in Sochi (1 Gold, 1 Silver & 3 Bronzes) & 2018 in Pyeongchang (1 Gold & 4 Bronzes). But, with prospects this year looking up, who can we expect to see earning medals for Great Britain?
Having won 2 World Championships since Beijing 2022, skeleton competitor Matt Weston is tipped to be one of Team GB’s strongest chances at gold in 2026. He enters the Olympics as the reigning World Cup winner (his 3rd of this title), after taking victory in 5 out of 7 events this season, with fellow Brit Marcus Wyatt being the only other competitor to take victory. Although Wyatt finished in 12th on his last showing at the Cortina track, his subsequent performances prove he is also in with a shout of a medal at these games. Furthermore, in the women’s event Tabitha Stoecker is in with a chance of a medal for Team GB, having finished third in the women’s World Cup, which included 2 second place finishes. Atop this, Stoecker & Wyatt took home the World Cup title for the Mixed Team event this season, with Weston & Amelia Coltman (who finished 10th place in the women’s World Cup) coming home in 5th. The British Skeleton team alone have the chance to win multiple gold medals this year, which could solidify the sport as Great Britain’s strongest in the history of the Winter Games.
From one type of ice to another, we look to Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson, who are set to compete in Ice Dance. The couple are currently ranked number 1 globally and are strong contenders for at least a Silver at this Olympics. The competition is tough however, with French pair Fournier-Beaudry & Cizeron and American pair Chock & Bates looking strong too, amongst other teams such as the Canadians and Italians. It is all to play for however and Fear & Gibson’s free dance routine, themed around Scottish pride, is a dynamic watch!
It is all to play for however and Fear & Gibson’s free dance routine, themed around Scottish pride, is a dynamic watch!
A third a final type of ice in Team GB’s medal hopes is that of the curling rink! It looks to be that Team GB is once again in the hunt for medals in curling, with Mixed Doubles pair Jennifer Dodds & Bruce Mouat on a run of good form in the round robin stage of the curling event (as curling begins before the official Opening Ceremony, it has already gotten underway). They have won all 5 of the games they have played at time of writing and look to be in running to stand on the podium at the end of it all. Mouat is also a favourite for a medal in the men’s event with Dodds too competing in the women’s, amongst a plethora of other British athletes.
Onto the snow, as 19-year-old snowboarder Mia Brookes aims high in women’s big air & women’s slopestyle. Having won slopestyle gold in the 2023 world championships, Brookes looks to be on good form heading into her first Olympic Games. Another British snowboarder looking to impress is Charlotte Banks. Banks currently leads the snowboard cross World Cup having podiumed in 2/3 of the events so far this season. Her teammate for the pairs event Huw Nightingale will be hoping to run well too, as the pair took victory in the latest snowboard cross team event in the World Cup.
Finally, Team GB is taking a plethora of skiers to the Olympics this year. Medal hopes can be seen in freestyle halfpipe competitor Zoe Atkin, who won the World Championship in her event last year. Her older sister Izzy won bronze in women’s slopestyle skiing at the 2018 Olympics, becoming the first Brit to win a skiing medal; will Zoe be the second? Aiming for a medal in the same event as Zoe’s sister is Kirsty Muir who, after fighting back from injury in December 2023, won slopestyle gold at the Winter X Games in Aspen just two weeks ago. In Aspen she also came home with a silver in Big Air, making her another Brit who Is hunting multiple medals this year!
Overall, the Team GB medal chances at Milano Cortina 2026 are looking stronger than ever. Each Olympian will be hoping to walk away from these games with a record-breaking victory to their name, the impacts of which would be felt nationally, with increased media attention, interest and possibly even funding!