As Team GB prepares for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, the nation sets its sights on an ambitious goal: to become the most successful British winter sports team in Olympic history. With UK Sport projecting a potential haul of up to eight medals from the snow and ice events in northern Italy, this would represent a significant improvement over previous performances.
Building on Past Performance
The British team returned with five medals from both the Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 Games, but managed only two podium finishes at the most recent Winter Olympics in China. The 53-strong squad heading to Italy carries genuine medal potential, featuring numerous World, European and X Games champions who could help surpass the national record.
Freestyle Skiing: Zoe Atkin
Zoe Atkin enters the competition as a formidable contender in the freestyle skiing halfpipe event. The 23-year-old, who was born and raised in the United States, claimed her first world championship title last season with gold in Switzerland. Although she finished ninth in her Olympic debut at Beijing 2022, her recent world champion status makes her one to watch in the halfpipe discipline.
Snowboard Cross: Charlotte Bankes
Charlotte Bankes brings considerable experience to the snowboard cross competition. The two-time world champion, originally from Hemel Hempstead but raised in the southern Alps from age four, previously represented France at the 2014 and 2018 Olympics before switching to Team GB in 2022. Now 30, Milano Cortina may represent her final opportunity to secure an Olympic medal, having been eliminated at the quarter-final stage during the notoriously unpredictable event four years ago.
Slopestyle Snowboard: Mia Brookes
Mia Brookes arrives at her first Winter Olympics following impressive achievements in recent years. Despite winning Junior World Championship gold in 2022, she was too young to compete at that year's Olympics at just 15 years old. Since then, she has become Great Britain's first-ever world champion in slopestyle snowboarding in 2023, while also collecting two X Games gold medals along the way.
Figure Skating: Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson
The figure skating pair of Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson carry genuine hopes of becoming Britain's first Olympic medallists in the discipline since Torvill and Dean's iconic performance in 1984. Last March, the duo secured Britain's first World Championship figure skating medal in over four decades, and they concluded 2025 with another medal at the Grand Prix Final in December.
Freeski: Kirsty Muir
Scottish freestyler Kirsty Muir competes in both slopestyle and Big Air events with strong medal prospects. Having won silver in Big Air at the 2020 Youth Olympics, she recently demonstrated her senior credentials by claiming slopestyle gold at the X Games in January, providing excellent preparation for the Olympic competition.
Skeleton: Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt
The skeleton events present multiple medal opportunities for Team GB. Matt Weston enters as a double world champion, having won gold at St. Moritz in 2023 and Lake Placid in 2025, followed by his second European gold in January. Meanwhile, Marcus Wyatt brings his own impressive credentials as a former European gold medallist and World Championship silver medallist, with potential additional opportunities in the mixed team event.
Curling Teams
Both British curling teams carry strong medal expectations to Italy. The men's team, skippered by Bruce Mouat, seeks to reclaim gold for the first time since curling returned to the Olympic programme in 1998, having secured silver medals in 2014 and 2022. The women's team, now led by Rebecca Morrison, aims to defend the title won in Beijing where Eve Muirhead finally captured Olympic gold at her fourth attempt with a decisive victory over Japan.
With this talented roster of athletes across multiple disciplines, Team GB approaches the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with genuine optimism about achieving their most successful Winter Games performance to date.
