Team GB is aiming for its most successful Winter Olympics yet at the upcoming Milano Cortina Games. UK Sport, responsible for funding Olympic and Paralympic sports in the UK, anticipates between four and eight medals in northern Italy. The UK’s previous best performance at a Winter Games was at Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018, where five medals were won, including one gold. Team GB officials are setting even higher expectations this time.
The optimism surrounding Team GB’s performance is justified by the presence of world champions, X Games gold medallists, and World Cup podium finishers in the British contingent heading to Italy. In the 2024/25 season, British winter athletes secured nine World Championship medals in various disciplines.
British skiers and snowboarders achieved 28 major podium finishes in Olympic events, earned three Crystal Globes (World Cup titles), and saw Zoe Atkin claim a World Championship crown. Chef de mission Eve Muirhead, a curling gold medallist in 2022, described the preparations as meticulous, emphasizing the focus on creating conditions that enable athletes to excel when it matters the most.
With high expectations set for Team GB in various disciplines such as men’s skeleton, curling, skiing, and snowboarding, Mirror Sport assesses the top contenders for medals in Italy. Weston, a double men’s skeleton world champion, dominated the World Cup events in recent years. Muir, a two-time World Cup gold medallist, has been excelling in slopestyle and big air competitions. Brookes, the youngest ever snowboarding world champion, is a strong contender for a podium finish. Atkin, the current halfpipe world champion, is also a medal hopeful after her impressive performances.
Bankes, a world champion in 2021, and her team-mate Nightingale are aiming for the mixed team title in figure skating. Fear and Gibson, a prominent British figure-skating duo, have a chance to secure Britain’s first Olympic figure skating medal since 1994. Mouat’s British curlers, the reigning curling world champions, are expected to build on their silver medal performance from 2022.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games will take place from February 6-22, with fans able to enjoy over 850 hours of live action on discovery+ via Prime Video. Throughout the games, the £3.99 discovery+ Entertainment subscription will grant access to TNT Sports 2, providing 24/7 Olympic coverage.