2 hours ago
2
Team GB have hailed a “historic” Winter Olympics after Britain’s greatest performance in the 102 years of the Games left them 15th in the medal table – and warned their rivals the “Brits are coming again”.
Zoe Atkin’s women’s halfpipe bronze medal on Sunday ensured that Britain left Milano Cortina with five medals – equalling the tally from Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018. However, Team GB also won a record three gold medals with Matt Weston winning two of them in the individual skeleton and the mixed event with Tabitha Stoecker. Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale also took gold in the mixed snowboard cross, while the men’s curling team won silver.
“It is far and away our most successful Games ever, both in terms of total medals achieved but also the number of Olympic champions,” the UK Sport performance director, Kate Baker, said. “We are absolutely delighted with that.
“I think we can all walk away from this Games incredibly proud of the successes that we’ve had and the breakthrough moments that we’ve had and we’ll be looking to do more of that. Ultimately the message is the Brits are coming again and I think we can all get really excited not just for French Alps in 2030 but for Los Angeles in the intervening period.”
That message was shared by the Eve Muirhead, the British Olympic Association’s chef de mission. “It has been a historic Winter Games and what an incredible team we have had out here in Milan-Cortina,” she said.
Muirhead, however, also stressed that the medal table didn’t tell the whole story with a record 24 top-10 finishers, surpassing the previous best of 18 from Sochi.
“We have seen some incredible performances on the snow and in the arenas and a handful of fourth places, which any other day could have been very different results,” she said. “That just shows the kind of jeopardy of winter sports and how margins are so fine when you’re here.
“Look at Andrew Musgrave for example. As much as he didn’t hit the podium you’ve got three top-10s at your fifth Winter Olympic Games. That’s incredible. You’ve got Niall Treacy making the final of the 1500m in short track. It’s these less minority sports that don’t get as much publicity day in, day out that catch the eye of the nation when it comes to winter sports.
“And I don’t know what the viewing figures were last night for the curling but I can imagine on a Saturday night back in the UK the whole place was buzzing.”
Muirhead paid special tribute to Weston, who had got Team GB off the mark after a slow start and then added a second gold later in the week. “Matt is an incredible athlete. I was out here at a World Cup about six months ago and he won. And he was like, I’m still just 70% back. I do know the resilience he has, the determination, the commitment, it kind of separates him.
“He’s just got that incredible athlete mindset and head on him. It has been an absolute privilege to work with him and he’s not just a great athlete, he’s a really great guy as well.”
UK Sport has received criticism for funding sports such as skeleton, which has no facilities in the UK, rather than the skating sports given there are 50 ice rinks in the UK.
Asked about that, Baker replied: “In terms of things like speed skating, I think any number of our sports that you look at in the winter portfolio, you can now watch on a Sunday and try it on a Monday.
“Figure skating is the same. You can go to a snow dome. And lots of our athletes started out on dry slopes. So, I think that ability to be able to do it is really, really important to us at UK Sport and of course we’ll look at any sport that offers that potential. But there’s also a reality about the kind of investment that would be required.
“We know the public are really proud of this group of athletes. In terms of the ambition I think what this shows is we’re not done yet. Great Britain has more to come.”
The Winter Olympics ends with a joyous closing ceremony in Verona. Now all eyes will be on the Winter Paralympics in 12 days’ time which will feature Russians competing under their own flag for the time since 2014.
Asked about that, Baker replied: “I know this might feel like I’m avoiding the question but it genuinely is a matter for the British Paralympic Association, because they control, they oversee and support the athletes in Games time. So that would be a question for them.”
English (US)