GB medal hopefuls at PyeongChang 2018

Great Britain is sending it's largest ever team to a Winter Olympics, with 59 athletes gunning for a record medal haul in PyeongChang. High hopes rest on the talented ski and snowboard squad, with a record 25 athletes competing across various disciplines, testament to the wave of world-class snow-dome and dry slope born superstars that have burst onto the scene over recent years. Here's a round-up of five medal hopefuls to keep your eye on.

1. DAVE RYDING, SLALOM (ski)

2017/18 is shaping up to be a stellar season for 31-year-old Dave, who won Britain’s first alpine skiing World Cup medal in 35 years when he took silver at the 2017 World Cup slalom in Kitzbühel, Austria. He’s seen by many as one of Britain’s best chances of a medal on snow.

MAIN RIVALS:

• Marcel Hischer (Austria) – Sochi silver medallist and World Cup leader.
• Henrik Kristoffersen (Norway) – Sochi bronze medallist.

2. James Woods, Slopestyle (ski)

‘Woodsy’ is the only skier in the world to have landed the switch triple cork 1440 octograb. His track record includes two slopestyle bronze medals in 2017 (X Games and Freestyle World Championships), and an X Games gold for big air. A favourite for Sochi 2014, he injured himself training, yet still took fifth place. He stands a strong chance of medalling at Pyeongchang.

Main rivals:

• Oystein Braaten (Norway) – widely seen as the Olympic frontrunner.
• Americans Joss Christensen, Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper, who swept the podium at Sochi.

3. Isabel Atkin, Slopestyle (ski)

‘Izzy’ started skiing at the age of three. Fifteen years later, she became the first British female to win a ski slopestyle World Cup event (Corvatsch 2017), and took bronze at the 2017World Championships in Sierra Nevada. This year, she won bronze at the World Cup in Aspen, and now has her sights on the Pyeongchang podium.

main rivals:

• Kelly Sildaru (Estonia) – the favourite, but unlikely to compete due to injury.
• Tess Ledeux (France) – youngest ever freestyle world ski champ.
• Sarah Hoefflin (Switzerland) – last season’s World Cup winner.

4. Billy Morgan, Big Air (snowboard)

Already a big name on the snowboard scene, Billy landed the world’s first triple backside rodeo 1260 at the age of 22. Four years later he landed the first quad cork 1800. Having placed 10th in slopestyle at Sochi, the Olympics’ first Big Air event gives Billy his best chance of medalling.

Main rivals:

• Canadians Mark McMorris and Max Parrot – two favourites to medal.
• Marcus Kleveland and Stale Sandbech (Norway) – both strong medal contenders.
• Yuki Kadono (Japan) – the first snowboarder to land a quad cork 1980.

5. Katie Ormerod, Big Air and Slopestyle (snowboard)

Team GB have high hopes for 20-year old ‘Katie-O’ who, in 2014, became the first female boarder to land a double cork 1080. In 2017, she won Britain’s first World Cup big air title; came second at the Air + Style Big Air; and took bronze for slopestyle at the Aspen X Games. There’s a good chance she could medal in big air, slopestyle, or both.

Main rivals:

• Anna Gasser (Austria) – a slopestyle and big air favourite.
• Jamie Anderson (US) – took gold for slopestyle at Sochi 2014.
• Hailey Langland (US) – won Big Air gold at X-Games 2017.

Good Luck

There's a whole heap of other talent on the billing. Good luck to all our winter athletes and let's bring it home!

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