Winter Olympics 2022 opinion - There is no reason why Team GB should not be a powerhouse on ice

Popular view: we want more Winter Olympic medal moments. Unpopular view: it will take more public money to make it happen. With the world coming out of one of the worst pandemics of the modern era, there will not be many who believe taxpayer’s money should be spent on sport instead of economic recovery.

But it is not as simple as that. Investment does create medal moments on the biggest stage and it does inspire more recreational activity, easing the burden on the NHS. Ad/> UK Sport wants to make Britain a powerhouse of winter sport, but a return of two medals from Beijing 2022 looks like a step back after collecting five at the previous two Games.

There is not a sport in the country that does not think it deserves a bigger slice of the funds allocated by the government and the National Lottery, but if it is serious about its ambition, it has to be backed up by money. Beijing 2022Golden Gu, Norse gods, Super Schulting, Canada's 'Captain Clutch' — The icons of Beijing 20223 HOURS AGO Ski and snowboard will always be difficult to fund because of the lack of slopes in the country, but state-of-the art snow domes can still produce world class athletes – just look at Kirsty Muir, and what Dave Ryding achieved by learning on a dry slope. To get real practice in, they will of course have to train away from home.

There is no getting away from how much that costs and, with the world coming out of a pandemic, sport is bottom of a lot people’s minds when they are thinking about how to spend public money. But, on ice, Britain surely should be contenders. The National Curling Academy was opened in Stirling in 2017 and everything seems to be heading in the right direction in that sport in Scotland, but more facilities surely need to