Record number of Team GB athletes selected for PyeongChang 2018
The British Olympic Association will take its largest ever delegation to an Olympic Winter Games next month after 59 athletes were officially selected to Team GB for PyeongChang 2018.
The 56 who travelled to Sochi four years ago was the previous highest, having grown from 52 at Vancouver 2010. Lake Placid 1932 remains the Games with the fewest British competitors, with just four figure skaters making the trip to the USA.
At PyeongChang 2018, Team GB will compete in 11 of the 15 disciplines; alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, luge, short track speed skating, skeleton and snowboarding.
Of the 11, freestyle skiing will see the highest number of athletes compete, 11, while Amanda Lightfoot will be the sole Team GB biathlete in South Korea.
Luge is the only sport to return to Team GB after missing out at Sochi 2014, while five snowboarders are set to compete in big air as the event makes its Olympic debut.
The 59-strong team sees 34 men and 25 women selected, while 33 of the team will compete on ice in PyeongChang and 26 on snow.
Snowboard cross athlete Zoe Gillings-Brier is the most experienced athlete in the team with the 32-year-old set to make her fourth Winter Olympic appearance, while 31 athletes will compete at a Games for the very first time.
This includes Team GB’s youngest athlete, freestyle skier Izzy Atkin (19), while the oldest athlete, curler Kelly Schafer (36), is selected for a third Games.
Five medallists return from Sochi 2014; Lizzy Yarnold (skeleton gold), Eve Muirhead (curling bronze), Anna Sloan (curling bronze), Vicki Adams (curling bronze), and Lauren Gray (curling bronze).
Muirhead is joined in PyeongChang by her two brothers Glen and Thomas, who are selected in the men’s curling rink alongside another sibling pair, Kyle and Cammy Smith. Freestyle skiers Katie and Molly Summerhayes are the third set of siblings selected to Team GB.
Mike Hay, Team GB Chef de Mission, said: “With the team fully selected for PyeongChang 2018, I’m delighted to welcome all 59 athletes to Team GB. It’s a great milestone in our preparations for the Games to know our complete delegation travelling out to South Korea and the countdown is now firmly on for the Opening Ceremony on 9th February.
“Not only is this the largest team we’ve ever taken to a Winter Olympics but I feel it is also the most talented. Given results over the last two years at elite level, there is potential for success across a broader range of sports than ever before and I’m confident that with this group of athletes we can make history once again.”