Winter Olympics 2026: Why Milano-Cortina could be Team GB’s most successful Games

But such optimism comes with a word of caution, given the Olympics that were held in Beijing four years ago.

Aiming for three to seven medals, the Great Britain team was left to “lick its wounds” after finishing the Games with just two curling medals – won on the final two days of competition – emerging from a fortnight of upsets and near misses.

Vicky Gosling, chief executive of GB Snowsport, later told BBC Sport that the athletes had flown to China “with a slight arrogance”.

Speaking ahead of the 2026 Olympics, she said: “We’ve always kept this in mind.

“We can’t rely on anything because literally anything can happen. There is a sense of danger.”

Eve Muirhead, Head of Mission for the British team, added: “What a great opportunity we have, but we also have to take into account the high risks of winter sports – that’s why everyone loves them.”

But this time it seems different.

Take the 2024-25 season for example. British winter athletes have won nine World Championship medals in all sports.

British skiers and snowboarders have achieved 28 major podiums in Olympic disciplines, winning three Crystal Globes (all-around World Cup titles) and one World Championship title for Atkin.

In skeleton, British athletes won three World Championships medals and 19 medals on the World Cup circuit – seven of them gold – while Weston Wyatt claimed first and second places in the overall classification.

Although injuries threaten to derail some athletes’ path to the Olympic Games, this widespread success has continued this season.

At the

In the men’s skeleton, Weston has won five of the seven World Cup races this season and White has won the other two.

“I’m really excited,” Gosling said. “When you look at the deep strength of the team that we have, we couldn’t be in a better place.

“We punched way above our weight.”

Over the four-year cycle leading up to the Milan-Cortina Games, UK Sport invested £25.5m in winter sports in the Olympic programme, compared to £22.2m for Beijing.

The 2022 figure was almost double the investment in Sochi 2014.

However, US Olympic winter sports federations have received around £24 million for 2022 alone from the US Olympic Committee.

“We have gone from a nation happy to be on the starting line to a nation truly capable of winning,” Gosling said.

“Not only do we expect to be on the starting line, we expect to get a medal.

“The days of Eddie the Eagle are over.”