Winter Olympics 2026: Golden Oldies, Fourth-Place Pain, and Sliding-Doors Moments
As a TV pundit at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, I found it hard to keep my emotions in check watching Great Britain's skeleton success. I knew exactly what it meant to Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker to become Olympic champions—Matt twice, of course. Their achievements are not only historic, but the day-to-day impact will be profoundly meaningful to both of them. I remember seeing kids' drawings of me and people dressing up as "Lizzy," and now I'm witnessing it from a different perspective. I'm incredibly proud of them.
Veteran Triumphs and Fourth-Place Fire
There's a sense that some athletes have been in the right place at the right time in 2026. Austria's Janine Flock won skeleton gold for the first time at the age of 36. She led the standings going into the final heat when I defended my title in 2018 but ended fourth. Elana Meyers Taylor of Team USA won her first gold in the monobob aged 41, with her teammate Kaillie Humphries, 40, taking bronze. It's a joy to see women in their prime in their 40s, defying expectations and inspiring a new generation.
Even through all of my physical issues after Pyeongchang 2018, I was very pleased to retire on my own terms. Dave Ryding, now 39, was representing Team GB at his second Games in Sochi 2014, and as a first-time Olympian, I looked up to him as a more mature athlete. Dave was always so smiley and generous, and I appreciated that. He has said he would ski until his legs fell off. "I think they pretty much have," he remarked this week after finishing 17th in the slalom in his final Games.
The level at which athletes are willing to go out and give their best continues to astound me. Whether it's the bravery of Lindsey Vonn, who we've seen lying in bed with a contraption on her leg after crashing out in the downhill, or the determination in the eyes of Kirsty Muir at the top of the freeski ramps as she considered what was needed to reach the podium. Fourth place can be the greatest fire to light ambition for the future, as Muir's two fourth-placed finishes at age 21 show.
Humanity Behind the Glamour
The Olympics always look glamorous. People will message you: "Are you having the best time? It looks so fun!" But I think there is this very human reality. I was really drawn to the image of Atle Lie McGrath lying in the woods—the isolation, the reflection—after straddling a gate in his second run of the slalom and missing out on gold, all while mourning the death of his grandfather. People are captivated by the human side of elite athletes: they feel joy in your success but also empathy in those moments of failure.
I really felt for the figure skater Ilia Malinin, who has spoken of the "endless insurmountable pressure" of being at the top, after his falls in the free skate cost him a medal having been the overwhelming favourite for gold. The Games can ask so much of you. There can be this loss of who you might have been had you won or what life might have been like in this moment. It's like sliding doors, a moment of change that defines careers and lives.
British Hopes and Funding Realities
Charlotte Bankes, one of Britain's great medal hopes, showed the power of human endeavour after the disappointment of her individual snowboard cross campaign, where she exited the competition at the quarter-final stage. In a matter of days, she changed that moment of frustration into the triumph of winning gold in the mixed team event with Huw Nightingale.
From a British perspective, the three golds going into the final weekend, including a first on the snow, are brilliant. But the fact of the matter is that UK Sport had hoped for up to eight GB medals at these Games. Even as we talk about the ups and downs of the human Olympic experience, there is still a cold reality of the outcome relating to funding and resources.
However, the fourth places of Muir, of Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat in the mixed curling, and of Freya Tarbit and Marcus Wyatt in the mixed team skeleton demonstrate the potential for the next four-year cycle. As for now, I have been captivated by all the highs and lows thus far from Milano Cortina 2026. The full range of human emotions on show at the Olympics is what makes it so wonderful to watch, reminding us that behind every medal and every fall, there's a story of resilience, hope, and humanity.
