Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic winter sports athletes will receive a record £33 million funding package in the cycle leading up to Alpes 2030 after enjoying unprecedented success at this year’s Games, funding body UK Sport said on Tuesday.
The three gold medals at this year’s Milano-Cortina Olympic Games was the best total for Britain, who had never returned from any previous Games with more than one.
“Milano-Cortina showed what British winter sport is capable of, with incredible performances across more sports than ever before, our best-ever Winter Olympic medal haul and a nation gripped by the amazing feats of our athletes,” Kate Baker, Director of Performance and People at UK Sport, said.
“With another Winter Games on European soil and an incredibly talented crop of athletes, we’re excited by what’s possible over the next four years.”
Britain’s five medals at the Milano-Cortina Games equalled a national record, while there were also a record number of top 10 finishes across a range of events.
Britain’s three gold medals were for Matt Weston in men’s skeleton and mixed team skeleton alongside Tabitha Stoecker plus Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale in mixed snowboard cross.
The initial funding package for the last Olympics cycle was £24.2 million, although that rose to around £30 million.
Bobsleigh and skeleton, in which Britain has a long-established reputation, will receive £10 million, while curling, another sport Britain excels at, will receive £6 million.
Another £12.5 million is ring-fenced to support Britain’s snow sports athletes, although this money will not be routed through GB Snowsport which is facing an independent review into its governance of the sports.
“It is intended that the new delivery model will be confirmed later this year to allow funding to flow seamlessly into the Alpes 2030 cycle,” a statement read.
“This would allow snowsport athletes to be protected and to continue to benefit from public funding.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman）
