Winter Olympics: Team GB’s reign over the Olympic skeleton is set to end

Team GB’s reign over the Olympic skeleton is set to end after another dismal day for British athletes in Beijing… with the sliders raising questions about their equipment

  • Laura Deas and Brogan Crowley made a poor start to the women’s skeleton event
  • Deas, who won bronze four years ago, could only muster 21st place on Friday
  • Team-mate Brogan Crowley was one place behind her after the first two runs
  • Team GB have failed to win a women’s skeleton medal after two good decades
  • In the men’s final standings, Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt were 15th and 16th

Team GB’s reign over the Olympic skeleton track is set to end after another dispiriting day for British athletes at Beijing 2022 – with the sliders raising questions about their equipment.

Britain have won six medals in the discipline across the past four Games, with gold for the women in each of the past three, but despite £6m of lottery funding, they have come skidding to a halt in China.

Laura Deas, who won bronze four years ago, was way down in 21st after two of four runs, while her team-mate Brogan Crowley was 22nd. They have the third and fourth runs on Saturday. Later, in the men’s final standings, Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt were 15th and 16th respectively.

Team GB have missed out on a Olympic medal in the women’s skeleton for first time in 20 years

Brogan Crowley made a poor start to her event in Beijing, ending Friday's run in 22nd place

Brogan Crowley made a poor start to her event in Beijing, ending Friday’s run in 22nd place

Weston said: ‘I think there’s quite a few questions that need to be raised but equipment is definitely going to be one of them.

‘We’ll review everything from start to finish, how it went, the processes we went through to try and get here, but equipment is definitely going to be on the list of the stuff we review.’

He added: ‘Something’s not right. I couldn’t have done much more today. I’m really happy with how I slid.

Reigning bronze medallist Laura Deas could only muster 21st spot on Friday in a poor outing

Reigning bronze medallist Laura Deas could only muster 21st spot on Friday in a poor outing

‘I saw Laura put some good runs down, and that was my target, to slide as well as she did. We’ll go away and we’ve got to learn some lessons about what’s happened here.

‘I don’t doubt that we will bounce back stronger, but for the moment, it’s not where I want to be.’

Meanwhile, Eve Muirhad’s curlers lost 9-7 to South Korea, their second defeat in three. The team led by Bruce Mouat, which is one of the few remaining hopes of Britain winning a medal here, were beaten 9-7 by defending champions USA. They responded well by taking out Norway 8-3. Andrew Musgrave was 46th and Andrew Young 51st in the men’s 15km cross-country skiing.

Izzy Atkin, a slopestyle bronze medallist at Pyeongchang 2018, has pulled out after failing to recover from a pelvis injury.



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