Team GB Debrief

[Surreal 33]

5 hours ago, Medard81 said:

Pluses of these games

 

 

Best ever Medal haul in a favourable timezone and more than one gold for the first time in a games

 

 

Our Skeleton success, specially as Matt Weston is from my home town and there are clearly signs of a bright future in the sport with Stoecker and Tarbit having potential to improve

 

 

A first Gold on Snow which was important for that team after early exits in the singles

 

 

Zoe Atkin matching her sisters 2018 medal achievement. Shame it wasn’t Gold or Silver but cant be picky her.

 

 

Andrew Musgrave raising the bar in Cross Country Skiing. And in Joe Davies there is a ready made replacement if he chooses not to return. Also Anna Pryce looks promising

 

 

 

 

 

Disappointments

 

 

Curling. Not in a bad way as it was gripping from start to finish but the pain of Mouat being edged out twice was painful and also a shame our women were too slow out the blocks. But enjoyed it all the same

 

 

Kirsty Muir and Mia Brookes falling short when they were highly fancied. But both have time to put this right and Im sure they will.

 

 

Missing out on a first Ice Dance Medal in 32 years. I hope Fear and Gibson stay at the top and come back for another try in 2030  

 

 

Poor showing in the Bobsleigh and with Brad Hall going to be nearly 40 next time and no obvious replacement bit concerned about the future of this sport

 

 

David Ryding not going out with a top 10 slalom finish in his final race. But cant blame him with the weather on that event causing chaos for everyone

 

 

Also a bit surprised Reece Bell (Womens Slalom) and Cornelius Kersten (Speed Skating) didn’t get selected. Particularly the latter who recently won a world championship medal and alongside his partner they could have pushed each other a bit higher. Im guessing his absence was injury related.

 

 

 

 

 

So overall I did enjoy this Olympics and good to see us having our best ever games in a favourable timezone to see it. Yes it could have been so much better with so many others missing out but I see this as holding something in reserve for the next time when hopefully we will raise the bar again in another favourable timezone.

 

 

Kersten wasn't in the Olympic team because he didnt meet the ISU criteria of being in the top 21 in World Cup points for the 2025/26 season (Kersten was coming back from an injury), not because GB Ice skating declined his quota.

 

In terms of Bobsleigh, Nick Gleeson seems like the replacement for Hall. He's Hall's former brakeman and only started driving in the last year or so, but has already got a win in the 2-Man on the NAC circuit. He actually met the IBSF criteria for the Games but the BBSA rejected his quota for some reason.

Edited February 25 by Surreal