[Medard81 21]

  On 11/16/2024 at 4:27 PM, TeamGB said:

My knowledge of Winter sport isn't great, and I feel I tend to be over optimistic but I'll give it a go for .

 

Alpine Skiing - Never won a medal before but Zak-Carrick Smith picked up 3 including 2 golds at the Winter Youth Olympics earlier in the year. It's clearly a very outside shot but we will see how he progresses. Dave Ryding could also medal on his day, although he will be 39 in 2026

 

Bobsleigh - Brad Hall and Co have been in with a shot for a number of years now, winning numerous medals on the worlds circuit. 2026 will likely be their last but I can see them giving it a good go. Adele Nicoll is still a relative newbie but with another 2 seasons under her belt and some help from hall she could be a contender. 

 

Cross Country Skiing - Andrew Musgrave is still kicking around and he has won world cup medals in the past.

 

Curling - In 2022 our only medals came in curling. Bruce Mouat will certainly go in as one of the favourites, but the women's team is going through a bit of rebuilding. Double gold at the winter youth games bodes well for the future

 

Figure Skating - Fear and Gibson have looked good this year and could return us to the golden era of the 80's. 

 

Freestyle Skiing - Zoe Atkin and Kirsty Muir both won medals at last year world cup, and Atkin took silver at the worlds, so they would be medal contenders, but both in very crowded events

 

Short Track Speed Skating - Not really and serious opportunities after the retirement of Elise Christie. 

 

Skeleton - After an extremely disappointing Beijing, the team has bounced back well and will be competitive in all 3 events, it's nice to see the team having a range of strong athletes rather than being dominated by a couple of exceptional ones. We better not do to well though, or the American's may blame us for cheating again.

 

Snowboarding - Mia Brookes is the current world Champion, and would be the most likely to medal in 2026. In the Snowboard Cross, Charlotte Bankes will be up there, and I feel like Huw Nightingale could progress this year, after some great performances in the Mixed team event.

 

 

As is the case with British Winter Sport, there are no clear favourites in any events, but there is a nice mix of competitive athletes in a diverse range of sports. 

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Agree with you on this. The only missed category was Long Track Speed Skating where Cornelius Kersten and Ellia Smeding have done a good job getting us involved in this event again after many years absence. He won a Bronze medal at 2023 worlds but both are realistically fringe contenders and main goal is to grow the sport here.

 

As for our general chances by British standards we tend to do well at the various world championships before a Winter Olympics to raise hopes and then several dont quite deliver when its time. Would prefer the reverse to happen where we save our best for 2026 and help boost our Winter sports growth.