LIVIGNO, Italy — In a stunning upset that rewrites British Winter Olympics history, Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale captured gold in the mixed snowboardcross event on Sunday. This victory represents Britain’s first-ever gold medal won on snow in the 102-year history of the nation’s Winter Games participation.
The breakthrough performance marks multiple historic milestones: not only is this Britain’s inaugural snow-surface gold, but it also represents the first time the nation has won multiple titles at a single Winter Olympics. The gold adds to the skeleton title secured by Matt Weston just two days earlier, bringing Britain’s total Winter Games gold count to just 15 in over a century of competition.
What makes this victory particularly remarkable is the underdog status of the British pair. Seeded 13th out of 16 qualifying teams, Bankes and Nightingale had posted disappointing individual results just days earlier—13th and 26th place finishes in their respective events. Yet in the team format, everything coalesced perfectly on the Livigno course under sunny Italian skies.
The mixed snowboardcross event, introduced just four years ago, features a unique relay-style format where four teams race simultaneously down the mountain. The first team to cross the finish line in the four-team final claims gold after three elimination rounds.
Nightingale, emotional after the victory, stated: ‘The singles were tough but now there are tears of joy. GB on a whole is doing great on the snowboard side. We want to keep it going and inspire little kids to do it as well, and maybe one day they can get a gold medal.’
The achievement shifts attention from Britain’s most famous Winter Olympians—ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean who won gold in 1984—to a new generation of snow sports athletes making history on different terrain.