How tech, talent and money turned Britain into a winter sports nation

On an island not known for its snow or ice, something is stirring. Not so long ago when Team GB turned up at the Winter Games, they left with their medal cupboard looking barren or bare. Sure, there was the occasional highlight – and those of a certain age will see Robin Cousins, Torvill and Dean and Rhona Martin in their mind’s eye – but as a winter sports country, Britain carried a distinct whiff of Eddie the Eagle: harmless and a little bit hapless.

The transformation has been stark. Between 1952 and 2010, the nation won just 12 medals in 16 Winter Games. Then came a quiet revolution. In Sochi in 2014 there was a five-medal haul, a tally equalled in Pyeongchang in 2018. Now there is a bullish confidence that the team can do even better in Beijing.

As Britain’s chef de mission, Georgina Harland put in her message to athletes in the team handbook: “Team GB arrives in Beijing with a talented team, more competitive across more disciplines than ever before. We continue to grow as a winter nation and that is down to the performances you as athletes continue to achieve every season.”

What has caused such a turnaround? A combination of tech, talent, money and new Olympic events. The tech has been most pronounced in the skeleton, where Britain has used the same aerodynamic and skinsuit technology that helped propel Britain’s track cyclists to success. Amy Williams in 2010, and Lizzy Yarnold in 2014 and 2018, reaped the benefits with gold medals.

Money? When it comes to winning more medals, Rule 101 is that cold hard cash undoubtedly helps. In curling’s case, for instance, they have been able to build a national centre in Stirling in 2017 which has led to almost immediate results. GB’s three teams – mixed, men and women – are