Britain Eyes 8 Medals at 2026 Winter Olympics

A country famous for Eddie the Eagle and barely two weeks of snow per year is about to make Winter Olympics history.

Team GB heads to the Milan-Cortina Games this week with its strongest winter sports squad ever. The target? Eight medals, breaking the record of five set at both Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018.

The numbers tell an incredible story. British winter athletes won nine World Championship medals this season and achieved 28 major podiums across Olympic disciplines. In skeleton racing alone, British athletes claimed 19 World Cup medals, with seven golds.

Matt Weston leads the charge as a two-time world champion in skeleton. He won five of seven World Cup races this season, with teammate Marcus Wyatt taking the other two. The pair dominated the overall rankings with a stunning one-two finish.

On snow, Britain finally has real gold medal contenders. Zoe Atkin just won X Games gold in halfpipe and claimed the world championship title. Sixteen-year-old Mia Brookes became the youngest snowboarding world champion in history in 2023 and has won back-to-back big air Crystal Globes.

Charlotte Bankes returns from a broken collarbone to compete in snowboard cross as a former world champion. Kirsty Muir arrived at the Games fresh off slopestyle gold and big air silver at X Games.

Ice dancers Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear could deliver Britain's first figure skating medal since 1994. British curlers, who saved Team GB from embarrassment with two medals at Beijing 2022, look strong again.

The Ripple Effect

The transformation didn't happen overnight. UK Sport increased funding from £22.2 million for Beijing to £25.5 million for Milan-Cortina. That investment nearly doubled what was spent before Sochi 2014.

But the real change runs deeper than money. "We've gone from a nation happy to be at the start line to a nation that's truly capable of winning," said GB Snowsport chief executive Vicky Gosling. "The Eddie the Eagle days are over."

The team remembers Beijing's heartbreak four years ago, when high expectations met crushing disappointment. Athletes arrived with what Gosling called "slight arrogance" and left with just two medals after a fortnight of upsets.

This time feels different. The depth of talent spans multiple sports, creating backup options if injuries or bad luck strike. Three athletes won Crystal Globes this season, marking them as the best in the world at their disciplines.

Winter sports remain unpredictable, with weather, course conditions, and split-second mistakes changing everything. But Britain has built something sustainable, something that goes beyond individual stars to create a culture of excellence.

The Milan-Cortina Games begin Friday, and Britain's winter athletes are ready to show the world just how far they've come.