Charlotte Bankes & Huw Nightingale Win Olympic Gold

The men raced first and Huw Nightingale crossed the line in second place to set up Charlotte  Bankes.

She then pipped Italy’s Michela Moioli to the line and the pair claimed the gold medal.

It adds to the World Championship title they won in 2023

GB’s only previous Olympic medals on snow were bronzes – for snowboarder Jenny Jones in 2014.

Then freestyle skier Izzy Atkin and snowboarder Billy Morgan four years later.

Bankes and Nightingale both had disappointment in their earlier individual events at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Last Friday she exited the women’s event in the quarter-finals, just as she did four years ago in Beijing, despite being widely tipped for a medal.

Similarly, Nightingale was left wanting much more from himself after exiting the men’s competition in the round of 16.

He found another level to produce arguably his best racing alongside Bankes.

Asked how she was feeling, Bankes told BBC Sport she was “lost for words”.

“Huw put me in an amazing position, he’s been riding extremely well and rode today to his full potential,” she said.

“I was in that start gate, knowing I was going for gold.”

Bankes is a former individual world champion and two-time overall World Cup champion.

Huw Nightingale reacted with joy and tears after the victory.

“It’s immense, you know,” said Huw.

“I think we push each other well and for me, I know that Charlotte Bankes is behind me and she’s such an incredible rider that it kind of loosens me up.

“I know that when I’m loose, I can ride really well and I think we’ve shown that today.

“The singles were tough but now there are tears of joy.”

Bankes has 26 World Cup gold medals to her name, and in 2021 became the first British snowboarder to win a World Championship title.

Born in Hemel Hempstead, she moved with her family to France as a four-year-old and represented the country at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics, before changing allegiance to GB after the Pyeongchang Games.

Bankes then went into the Beijing Olympics four years later as perhaps Britain’s best chance of a gold, but a crash in the quarter-finals put paid to her hopes and left her devastated.

It was the first gold medal of the day for Team with another coming later when Tabby Stoecker and Matt Weston took the team skeleton gold.

Team GB now has three gold medals – the most it has ever achieved at the Winter Olympics.

“Huw has been running incredibly well and that just shows the strength that we’ve got as a team,” added Bankes.

“And to be able to perform as Team GB in a team event is incredible.

“It makes me even more proud.”

There is more GB snowsport action on Monday at The Games.

Dave Ryding is one of three British athletes competing in the men’s slalom.

Dave Ryding in Schladming Image © PlanetSKI

‘The Rocket’, 39, has a best Olympic finish of ninth at PyeongChang 2018 from his four previous appearances and is joined by Laurie Taylor and Billy Major.

It will be Ryding’s last Olympics.

• Dave Ryding announces retirement

Both Major and Taylor are featuring at their second Olympics, Taylor having debuted in PyeongChang and Major in Beijing four years later.

Taylor recorded his best World Cup finish of fourth earlier this season.

The first run is at 9am GMT with the second at 12.30pm.

Kirsty Muir, who finished fourth in the slopestyle last week, goes in the big air final from 6.30pm GMT.

She qualified in fourth with a total score of 166.50.

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