Winter Olympics: 'No panic' over lack of Great Britain medals, says Dame Katherine Grainger
- Published
Winter Olympics: Teams GB's Bankes misses out in snowboard cross
24th Winter Olympic Games |
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Hosts: Beijing, China Dates: 4-20 February |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button and online; listen on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds; live text and highlights on BBC Sport website and mobile app |
UK Sport chair Dame Katherine Grainger says she is "not panicking yet" as Team GB remain without a medal after five days of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Britain suffered more disappointment on day five as world champion Charlotte Bankes went out of the women's snowboard cross in the quarter-finals.
That came after Great Britain's curling mixed doubles pair Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat missed out on a medal on Tuesday.
"I think we'll still see Team GB deliver," said Grainger.
"We still have high hopes for the men's and women's curling teams, we've got the skeleton still to come, plenty more on the snow.
"We're only day five. I was out in Pyeongchang [in 2018] and it was day seven before we saw a medal, so we're not panicking yet."
Speed skater Farrell Treacy made it through to the men's 1500m final on Wednesday where he finished ninth.
It was announced in July 2018 that UK Sport would invest £24m in winter sports during the 2018-22 cycle, down from £32m for 2014-18. The total investment has actually reached £32m again, though, with £27m given direct to sports and another £5m in awards to athletes.
UK Sport set a target of between three and seven medals for Beijing before the Games.
"Olympic sport is unpredictable and comes down to these incredibly tight moments that will decide your medal position or otherwise," said Grainger.
Analysis
Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis, Nielsen Gracenote
Great Britain's best medal performance since the Winter Olympics began in 1924 was the five medals achieved at each of the past two Winter Games, in 2014 and 2018. On each occasion, the first medal arrived in the first seven days.
The best chance of Great Britain winning a medal between now and the end of day seven of Beijing 2022 looked like being the men's skeleton which finishes on Friday. However, neither Matt Weston nor Marcus Wyatt have been within 0.9 seconds of the winner in any of the six training runs.
Great Britain have failed to win a medal at a Winter Olympics on seven occasions, in 1932, 1956, 1960, 1968, 1972, 1988 and 1992. Great Britain has won at least one medal at each of the past seven Winter Games, easily the best ever streak for Team GB.
Prior to this year's Winter Games, we forecast three medals for Great Britain in Beijing. The two remaining curling competitions and the two men's bobsleigh events appear to offer the best remaining opportunities of achieving that goal."
First GB medal at Winter Olympics
1994 - Day 9: Torvill and Dean, figure skating bronze (Total GB medals at Games: 2)
1998 - Day 14: Four-man bobsleigh bronze (Total medals: 1)
2002 - Day 12: Alex Coomber, skeleton bronze (Total medals: 2)
2006 - Day 6: Shelley Rudman, skeleton silver (Total medals: 1)
2010 - Day 7: Amy Williams, skeleton gold (Total medals: 1)
2014 - Day 2: Jenny Jones, snowboarding bronze (Total medals: 5)
2018 - Day 7: Dominic Parsons, skeleton bronze (Total medals: 5)
Source: Gracenote
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