Never in the 102 years of competition have Team GB Winter Olympians been selected to compete with hopes of winning more medals.
UK Sport, the body responsible for distributing public money and National Lottery funding to GB’s elite athletes, has set a range of four to eight medals for GB teams at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.
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Team GB has set medal targets at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, with mission chef Eve Muirhead confident of a record-breaking match.
His previous highest medal tally was five medals at the 2014 Sochi Games and four years later at the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea.
UK Sport and Team GB are secretly confident the team can snatch the highest medal tally as athletes feel more competitive in more sports in an unprecedented Winter Olympics. This is backed up by statistics showing that more British athletes are succeeding at the highest level of world championships this season than ever before.
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The head coach of Canada’s skeleton team has been accused by the United States of manipulating the event, which cost the team’s skeleton legend Katie Uhlaender a spot in the Winter Olympics.
21 Team GB athletes have won either Bold, Silver or Bronze at the Winter Sports World Championships during the Olympic period leading up to Milan-Cortina 2026. We’ve never seen this level before.
Eve Muirhead (OBE), who won gold as skipper for the women’s curling team at the last Beijing 2022 Games, has since retired from elite sport but has stepped up to a senior leadership role within Team GB, leading the team as mission chef for Milan-Cortina 2026.
“We have prepared with great care for Milano Cortina 2026,” she said.
“I know firsthand that the right environment makes a big difference at the Olympics, and we have focused on creating an environment that allows our athletes to perform when it matters most.
“This team has tremendous potential, and while we may not always benefit from the same ease of access to snow and ice as some of our rivals, looking at the Class of 2026 shows we have a real opportunity to challenge the status quo.
“Our athletes are focused, motivated and hungry to succeed. Our responsibility is to put the right foundations in place so each athlete can reach their full potential. We are heading into Italy as a force to be reckoned with across more disciplines than ever before, and we look forward to seeing the country get behind them.”
The Winter Olympics will begin on February 6 with the opening ceremony at Milan’s iconic San Siro Stadium, close to soccer, AC Milan and Inter Milan venues. The venue will be the centerpiece of the opening day of Italy’s third Winter Olympics.
The Olympics will be held in February, while the Paralympics will follow in March. British Sport has also set the medal range for Paralympic GB athletes from two to five.
Although the overall coverage is slightly lower than at Beijing 2022, teams are still expected to be competitive for medals across a wide range of disciplines.
Phil Smith, General Manager of Paralympic GB for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, said: “Paralympic GB will be represented in five sports, with an exciting mix of experienced Paralympians and first-time Olympic athletes already selected, with the full team to be confirmed next month.”
“I am confident that plans are in place to give each athlete the best chance of delivering a great performance that will excite and captivate the British public.
“With the Paralympic Winter Games taking place in a European time zone close to the country, Milano Cortina 2026 will be a great opportunity for Paralympic GB’s talented athletes to show their fans how fascinating and thrilling winter sports can be, whether they are in Italy or cheering from their home countries.”
