Team GB's Magic Monday Dream: Three Olympic Medals in Sight
High in the Italian Alps, where the thin air and oxygen deprivation can play tricks on the mind, British whispers are growing louder about the tantalising prospect of Magic Monday. The ambitious dream? For Team GB to secure three medals in a single day at these Winter Olympics. And remarkably, this scenario is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility.
Mia Brookes' Remarkable Recovery
Late on Sunday evening, Mia Brookes, the 19-year-old British snowboarding sensation, staged an extraordinary comeback to qualify third for Monday's Big Air final. Her journey to the final was anything but straightforward. On her first run, she over-rotated dramatically, ending up sliding toward Livigno town centre on her backside. This disastrous start earned her a meagre 29.75 points, leaving her languishing in 24th place out of 29 competitors.
With only the top two scores from three runs counting toward qualification, the pressure was immense. Brookes responded magnificently. On her second attempt, she executed a flawless backside 1260 melon, completing three-and-a-half full rotations while spinning toward her back in the air. This spectacular manoeuvre scored 89 points, the second-highest score of the night. For her final run, she opted for a safer Cab 1080 stalefish, which earned 78 points, giving her a total of 167 and securing third place overall.
"That third one was special to land," Brookes reflected. "You're in the air, thinking about it in the back of your mind, spinning: like, oh, my God, I've got to land this. But as much as I hate it in the moment, it's moments like that that I just love. Because when you land, it's like the best feeling on the planet. It's insane."
Conquering Nerves with Heavy Metal
What made Brookes' performance particularly impressive was her ability to conquer her nerves after that initial fall. "After that first run, I was so nervous," she admitted. "But I just had to take my time at the top, not rush into anything. I listened to Metallica. Megadeth. Pantera, Judas Priest, stuff like that."
She described her mindset during the competition: "It came out of me in an athlete way. I was just keeping cool under the pressure and not making any rash decisions or rushing anything. Every minute was awesome, but definitely quite scary."
Watching proudly from the sidelines were her parents, Nigel and Vicky, who work as a mechanic and a hairdresser respectively. Brookes learned to snowboard during family trips around Europe in a camper van, and they have continued this tradition in Livigno to save money. "Yeah, they're actually in the camper, just staying down the road," she said. "So yeah, they came and watched the night. So yeah, it's special to do that in my family."
Team GB's Triple Medal Contenders
The potential for Magic Monday extends beyond Brookes' snowboarding final. Team GB's mixed curling team of Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds will compete in their semi-final in the afternoon. Having lost just one game in the group stages, against Switzerland, they are considered odds-on favourites by bookmakers. A victory in their last-four encounter would guarantee them at least a silver or bronze medal.
Additionally, 21-year-old Kirsty Muir enters the freeski slopestyle final with considerable confidence after securing third place in qualifying. Bookmakers rank her as the third favourite for gold, behind only Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud and Chinese star Eileen Gu.
When asked about the possibility of Magic Monday, Brookes smiled at the prospect. "It'd just be great to be a part of that, wouldn't it? I've grown up with Kirsty. We've known each other since we were younger. So to go into an Olympic final on the same day as her for Great Britain is really special."
While securing three medals in one day remains an ambitious target, the combination of Brookes' snowboarding prowess, Mouat and Dodds' curling expertise, and Muir's freeskiing talent creates a genuine possibility for Team GB to achieve something extraordinary on what could indeed become a truly magical Monday at the Winter Olympics.
