Winter Paralympics 2026: Great Britain wins just one medal but has a bright future ahead of it

As Neil Simpson stood on the gate at the start of the slalom on Sunday, that perhaps summed up just how tough these Winter Paralympics have been for Great Britain.

With just one medal won – silver for Simpson and his guide Rob Booth in the visually impaired Alpine race – it represents the team’s worst finish at the Winter Games since Vancouver 2010, when they went home empty-handed.

At each edition in the interim, Team GB has won at least six medals, and with just over £7 million invested in sports in the Winter Paralympics program over the past four years by UK Sport, questions can rightfully be asked.

But the highs achieved by previous games were not expected to be achieved this time.

Due to a combination of injuries and an inexperienced squad – 17 of the 25-strong British Paralympic squad were making their debut – UK Sport set a medal range of between two and five, although there would inevitably be resentment at not achieving even the minimum.

UK Director of Sports Performance, Dr Kate Baker, said: “I think it is impossible for us to be disappointed in any of these athletes, the journey they have taken to get here, and the level of determination and resilience to get to the Paralympics is truly worth celebrating.”

“I think in many ways these Games have come a little early for some of our athletes, so we can be excited for what’s to come.

“We are in niches we have never been in before, and we are showing that there is depth coming and real potential for the future.”

British Paralympics chief of delegation Phil Smith added: “Obviously we would have liked to see some other medal-winning performances.” “There are a lot of positive things about gaming in general.

“We know that winter sports are full of risks. If I ran this week again, we could have been somewhere in the middle of that goal with a little luck and things would have turned out a little differently.”