There is nothing in sport quite like the Winter Olympics, the coolest Games on earth.
As one of 12 teams to have participated in every single edition of the Winter Games, Team GB have been protagonists in the century-old, magical land of ice and snow.
Here are just ten iconic British moments at the Winter Olympics.
Chamonix 1924: Men’s curling, gold
Scots Willie Jackson, son Laurence, Robin Welsh and Tom Murray cruised to victory in a curling competition featuring just three teams, beating hosts France by a staggering 46-4 scoreline.
However, even after Chamonix was retroactively designated the first Winter Olympics in 1925, it was commonly accepted that curling had been just a demonstration event.
On the eve of Turin 2006, thanks to the work of Herald newspaper reporter Doug Gillon, the quartet were officially recognised as Olympic champions, 82 years after they competed.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936: Men’s ice hockey, gold
Canada had never lost a game of ice hockey at the Olympics - until Team GB came along.
With the presence of a number of British-Canadian players in the GB side adding spice to the rivalry, the Canadians were beaten 2-1 in a historic triumph.
The star player of the GB team was netminder Jimmy Foster, nicknamed ‘The Parson’, who conceded only three goals in seven games. He was posthumously inducted into the Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023, the fifth British person to do so.
Innsbruck 1964: Robin Dixon and Tony Nash, 2-man bobsleigh, gold
Two British bandits delivered Britain’s first and only Olympic gold medal in bobsleigh in storybook style.
Engineer Tony Nash was a brilliant driver and Robin Dixon, the future Lord Glentoran, his trusty brakeman, the pair winning gold by twelve 100ths of a second.
The victory was achieved after an incredible sporting gesture from Italian rival Eugenio Monti, who loaned a vital spare part after problems with the British sled.
Sarajevo 1984: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, ice dance, gold
One of the greatest moments in Team GB’s Olympic history needs no introduction.
Having finished fifth on their Olympic debut at the Lake Placid Games in 1980, Jayne and Christopher’s famous, subversive dance routine to the 'Bolero' won them gold four years later.
The pair will hang up their skates for good in 2025.
@teamgb Sarajevo 1984, the scene of one of Team GB’s greatest Winter Olympic moments. Watch the story of Torvill & Dean and their flawless Bolero ⛸️ #bolero #iceskaters #figureskating #torvillanddean #winterolympics #iceskating
♬ original sound - Team GB
Nagano 1998: 4-man bobsleigh, bronze
The quartet of Sean Olsson, Dean Ward, Courtney Rumbolt and Paul Attwood were exceptional for a number of reasons.
Three of them served in the British Army - Olsson and Ward were both Paratroopers and Attwood a Royal Marine.
Ward and Rumbolt are jointly regarded as Team GB’s first black Winter Olympic medallists, with this medal standing as the first in the era of National Lottery funding.
Salt Lake City 2002: Women’s curling, gold
Rhona Martin threw down the ‘Stone of Destiny’ to win Team GB’s first Winter Olympic gold in 18 years.
Martin combined with Janice Rankin, Fiona MacDonald, Deborah Knox and Margaret Morton to overcome surgery, illness and setbacks to win the top prize.
The skip held her nerve on the very last stone to beat Switzerland 4-3, having navigated the play-off phase to reach the final.
Vancouver 2010: Amy Williams, women’s skeleton, gold
Amy Williams scorched to gold on Olympic debut having ‘not really liked’ sliding when she tried it for the first time.
Williams became a household name as Team GB’s first individual Winter Olympic champion in 30 years and first female individual gold medallist for 58 years.
It was the latest act in a British skeleton dynasty that included Alex Coomber, Shelley Rudman, Laura Deas and Lizzy Yarnold.
Sochi 2014: Jenny Jones, women’s snowboard slopestyle, bronze
Jones was a true pioneer in the world of British winter sport.
Her gymnastics background allowed her to debut new tricks and eventually led to her becoming one of the first British riders to be invited to the X Games, a landmark feat.
Jones plunged slopestyle into the national consciousness by winning Olympic bronze, Team GB’s first-ever medal on snow.
PyeongChang 2018: Lizzy Yarnold, women’s skeleton, gold
Emblematic of an era of British Olympic sport, Yarnold is our greatest Winter Olympian.
Having struck gold in Sochi, she dealt with the pressure of being ‘the hunted’ by winning gold with emphatic track record times in South Korea.
Having only started the sport at the age of 20, Yarnold became the first skeleton slider to defend an Olympic title and the first British athlete to win back-to-back winter golds.
Beijing 2022: Women’s curling, gold
After a rollercoaster Olympic career, Eve Muirhead led Britain to a fairytale gold in the pandemic-impacted Winter Games.
Muirhead joined Vicky Wright, Jennifer Dodds, Hailey Duff and Mili Smith on the top step of the podium, having qualified at the last possible opportunity and only squeaked through the group stages at the Games themselves.
In the perfect postscript to her story, Muirhead will act as Chef de Mission for Team GB at Milan-Cortina 2026.
Sportsbeat 2024