Team GB will leave the 2026 Olympic Winter Games as history makers after securing two titles on the same day for the first time.
Having never won two gold medals on a single day of any previous Winter Games, Britain finished top of the podium in mixed team snowboarding – their first-ever gold on snow – and again in mixed team skeleton.
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale were the first pair to medal, delivering a stunning performance to take top spot at the Livigno Snow Park.
As it happened: Team GB’s record-breaking day
The pair, world champions in 2023, beat Italy to the gold medal by 0.43seconds in the final.
It was then the turn of Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker on Sunday evening to win the next gold in mixed team skeleton.
Having been the dominant winner of the men’s title on Friday evening, Weston became the first British athlete to win two medals at the same Winter Olympics when he and Tabby Stoecker beat Germany by 0.17seconds.
Fellow Britons Marcus Wyatt and Freya Tarbit were just edged into fourth place by the other German team of Jacqueline Pfeifer and Christopher Grotheer.
Debut gold on snow
After winning both their quarter-final and semi-final, all eyes were on Bankes and Nightingale in their bid to make history on the slopes.
The impressive Bankes moved up to first place midway through the decisive women’s race after Nightingale had finished a close second to France’s Loan Bozzolo in the men’s race.
The gold medal marked a remarkable revival from the duo, who had both exited the heats in disappointing fashion in their respective individual events earlier in the Games.
Great Britain’s Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale celebrate with their gold. Pic: PA
Their medal is Britain’s best ever on snow, building on the bronzes previously won by Jenny Jones, Billy Morgan and Izzy Atkin.
Bankes said: “I’m happy with my riding all day. I found it again, which I’ve been struggling with for the last week here.
“At last I found some speed and made it count. I really used my carving, the drafting, made the right choices, and that’s where it pays off.”
Late skeleton drama
Hopes were high for another medal in the skeleton after Weston’s individual gold on Friday.
Stoecker had given her partner a tough task with her run of 1:00.77 – 0.30seconds off the pace of the Germans – but Weston put in a sublime 58.59seconds run to clinch the gold.
The pair, ranked top seeds ahead of the event, won with a final time of 1:59.36, setting a new course record in the process.
“Luckily, I felt like I knew what I needed to do,” Weston said. “I took a load of confidence from the individual event and I almost had to be boring to get the job done and do it again.”
“I can’t believe it,” Stoecker added. “It’s a team effort and when Matt came down and we were in the green, I was just in shock.”
Stoecker and Weston celebrate their gold medal. Pic: PA
