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Great Britain at the 2010 Winter Olympics

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Great Britain at the
2010 Winter Olympics
Flag of the United Kingdom
IOC codeGBR
NOCBritish Olympic Association
in Vancouver
Competitors50 in 11 sports
Flag bearers Shelley Rudman (opening)[1]
Amy Williams (closing)[2]
Medals
Ranked 19th
Gold
1
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
1
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)

Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and sent a team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB.[3] The team was made up of athletes from the whole United Kingdom including Northern Ireland, whose athletes may elect to hold Irish citizenship, allowing them to represent either Great Britain or Ireland.[4] Additionally some British overseas territories compete separately from Britain in Olympic competition.

Great Britain sent a delegation of fifty athletes to compete in eleven sports and were led by Andy Hunt as Chef de Mission, but despite being set a target of three medals by UK Sport, the team won just one, Amy Williams' gold in the women's skeleton, and finished 19th in the medal table.

Medallists

Further information: 2010 Winter Olympics medal table, List of 2010 Winter Olympics medal winners, and Chronological summary of the 2010 Winter Olympics

The following British competitors won medals at the Games. In the discipline sections below, medalists' names are in bold. All results are taken from the official Vancouver 2010 website.[5]

Medal Name Sport Event
 Gold Amy Williams Skeleton Women's

Targets

The athletes entering the stadium, led by flagbearer Shelley Rudman, during the opening ceremonies.

UK Sport, the organisation responsible for distributing National Lottery funding to elite sport, set Team GB a target of winning three medals, of any colour, at the Vancouver Games; two more than the single silver medal won in Turin by Shelley Rudman. If achieved this would have been the best performance by a British Winter Olympics team since 1936 when a gold, silver and bronze medal were won. The target was set following £6.5 million of funding in the four years leading up to the Games. Whilst no particular events were targeted as potential sources of medals, the success of British athletes in the previous four years was taken into account when setting the target; the men's curling team and the two-woman bobsleigh team, Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke, won world championships, and in 2008 Kristan Bromley became the first man in the history of bob skeleton to win the World Championship, European Championship and World Cup in the same year.[6][7]

Amy Williams of Great Britain (centre) with the gold medal she won in the women's skeleton alongside silver medalist Kerstin Szymkowiak (left) and bronze medalist Anja Huber (right).

The preparations of Britain's skiers and snowboarders for the Games were hampered by the financial problems of the British Ski and Snowboard Federation (BSSF), operating under the name Snowsport GB, which was responsible for administering the lottery funds received through UK Sport. In August 2009 the BSFF was £300,000 in debt and a number of British skiers, including medal hope Chemmy Alcott, were forced to fund their own summer training camps in New Zealand and Chile.[8] On 5 February 2010, just a week before the opening ceremony of the Games, it was announced that BSSF had entered administration after the Royal Bank of Scotland withdrew the organisation's overdraft facility. This put the participation of British skiers in doubt, as a governing body is a necessity for Olympic competition, but the British Olympic Association (BOA) revived a subsidiary company to take over.[9] The financial difficulties suffered by Alcott, partly as a result of the BSSF collapse, led her to consider her future in the sport at the end of the Games.[10]

On 25 February, having finished 19th overall in the medal table, and 14th out of European countries, head of Team GB Andy Hunt said that despite not reaching UK Sport's target the team "have achieved what we set out to do" by bettering their performance in the 2006 Games. This was in reference to Amy Williams' gold in the women's skeleton, which was the sole medal won by the team.

Steve Redgrave, vice-president of the BOA, added "I don't think there is a sense of disappointment – I think there is a sense of celebration of winning that gold medal. I would take one gold medal over five bronze medals any day." Hunt also announced that the BOA would conduct a strategic review of funding and may support the channeling of more funds towards realistic medal hopes.[11]

Alpine skiing

Main article: Alpine skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Four British athletes competed in alpine skiing events at the Games. Andy Noble and David Ryding qualified for two events each whilst Ed Drake and Chemmy Alcott, taking part in her third Olympics, qualified for all five variants. The preparations of Britain's skiers were disrupted by the collapse of Snowsport GB, but all athletes were able to enter the games after the intervention of the British Olympic Association.[8][9] Alcott, considered a realistic contender for a medal, achieved the squad's best finish coming eleventh in the women's combined.[12][13]

Men
Athlete Event Run 1 Run 2 Total Rank
Ed Drake Combined Downhill
1:56.63 		Slalom
54.28 		2:50.91 29
Downhill 1:57.91 N/A 38
Giant slalom 1:21.65 1:23.48 2:45.13 37
Slalom Did not start
Super-G 1:33.20 N/A 32
Andy Noble Giant slalom 1:20.79 1:24.06 2:44.85 36
Slalom 51.55 54.58 1:46.13 29
David Ryding Giant slalom 1:21.97 1:26.06 2:48.03 47
Slalom 51.58 53.55 1:45.13 27
Women
Athlete Event Run 1 Run 2 Total Rank
Chemmy Alcott Combined Downhill
1:27.06 		Slalom
45.45 		2:12.51 11
Downhill 1:47.31 N/A 13
Giant slalom 1:17.53 1:12.41 2:29.94 27
Slalom Did not finish
Super-G 1:23.46 N/A 20

Biathlon

Main article: Biathlon at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Britain sent a single biathlete to the Games; Lee-Steve Jackson was the first British competitor to qualify for the Olympic pursuit and finished in 56th position. He also took part in the individual and sprint events.[14]

Athlete Event Final
Time Misses Rank
Lee-Steve Jackson Men's individual 55:37.5 1+2+1+0 66
Men's pursuit 39:54.7 0+1+3+0 56
Men's sprint 27:18.1 1+1 55

Bobsleigh

Main article: Bobsleigh at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Britain sent eight athletes to compete in the bobsleigh events with entries in the two-man, four-man and two-woman competitions. Allyn Condon competed in the four-man event having previously taken part in the 4 x 100 m relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney; the first Briton to take part in both a Summer and Winter Games since Marcus Adam.[15] In the two-man the British pairing of Dan Money and John Jackson suffered a crash on their first run; they escaped serious injury, but were disqualified for failing to complete the run.[16]

Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke went into the two-woman event as the reigning world champions and after two of four runs were placed tenth, one position ahead of Paula Walker and Kelly Thomas.[17] On the third run Minichiello and Cooke lost control, resulting in them crossing the finishing line with their sled on its side, and the pair withdrew from the competition before the final run.[18]

Athlete Event Runs Total Rank
Run 1 Rank Run 2 Rank Run 3 Rank Run 4 Rank
Dan Money
John Jackson 		Two-man DSQ (crashed) n/a DSQ[16]
Allyn Condon
John Jackson
Henry Nwume
Dan Money 		Four-man 51.53 11 54.29 (1:45.82) 22 (21) 52.24 (2:38.06) 14 (18) 52.15 14 3:30.21 17
Nicola Minichiello
Gillian Cooke 		Two-woman 53.85 10 53.73
(1:47.58) 		12
(10) 		55.87 (2:43.45) 21 (16) Did not start Did not finish
Paula Walker
Kelly Thomas 		Two-woman 54.19 14 53.58
(1:47.77) 		9
(11) 		54.47 (2:42.24) 15 (11) 53.94 11 3:36.18 11

Cumulative time and standings given in brackets.

Cross-country skiing

Main article: Cross-country skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Three British cross-country skiers went to the Games, all three were competing in their first Olympics.[19] Andrew Young and Andrew Musgrave, aged seventeen and nineteen, entered the team sprint in addition to their individual events but were forced to withdraw as Young, suffering from a cold, was unable to complete his leg.[20]

Men
Athletes Event Qualification Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Andrew Musgrave 15 km individual N/A 36:32.4 55
30 km pursuit N/A 1:24:07.9 51
Sprint 3:58.43 58 Did not advance
Andrew Young 15 km individual N/A 38:45.1 74
Sprint 4:02.19 60 Did not advance
Andrew Musgrave,
Andrew Young 		Team sprint N/A Did not finish Did not advance
Women
Athlete Event Final
Time Rank
Fiona Hughes 10 km individual 30:29.8 68

Curling

Eve Muirhead, the 19-year-old skip of the women's team.
Main article: Curling at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Curling events at the 2010 Winter Olympics were in the form of a round-robin tournament; each nation played all others in a group stage with the top four qualifying for medal playoffs. The men's team, the reigning world champions, won group stage games against France, Denmark, China, United States and Germany. These five wins left them in a tie for the last semifinal place with Sweden, who beat them in their group game. A single tiebreaker match was played between the two sides which was won by the Swedes in the first extra end.[21] The women's team, skippered by 19-year-old Eve Muirhead, entered the tournament ranked seventh in the world and beat world champions China in their opening match, but won just two of their remaining eight games to finish seventh in the group and miss out on the semifinals.[22]

Men's tournament

Main article: Curling at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's tournament
Men's team[23]

Lockerbie CC (curling club), Lockerbie

Results
Round-robin
Tiebreaker

Having finished level with Sweden with five wins Great Britain faced a single match tiebreaker to decide who advanced to the semifinals. Template:2010 Winter Olympics men's curling tiebreaker

Standings

Template:2010 Winter Olympics men's curling standings

Women's tournament

Main article: Curling at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Women's tournament
Women's team[24]
Results
Standings

Template:2010 Winter Olympics women's curling standings

Figure skating

Sinead and John Kerr, who finished eighth in the ice dancing, on the podium at the 2009 European Figure Skating Championships.
Main article: Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Great Britain had qualified seven athletes; one in ladies singles, one pair in the pairs skating, and two pairs in ice dancing.[25] The team was announced as Jenna McCorkell in the ladies singles, Stacey Kemp and David King in the pairs and in the ice dancing Sinead Kerr and John Kerr, and Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland.[26] Brother and sister pairing Sinead and John Kerr were considered medal contenders before the Games as they entered the event ranked fifth in the world.[27] The pair, who came third in the 2009 European Championships, went on to finish eighth.[28]

Athlete(s) Event CD SP/OD FS/FD Total
Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank Points Rank
Jenna McCorkell Ladies' N/A 40.64 29 Did not advance 29
Stacey Kemp,
David King 		Pairs N/A 48.28 16 91.66 16 139.94 16
Sinead Kerr,
John Kerr 		Ice dancing 37.02 8 56.76 8 92.23 9 186.01 8
Penny Coomes,
Nicholas Buckland 		Ice dancing 25.68 21 46.33 19 71.60 19 143.61 20

Freestyle skiing

Main article: Freestyle skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Three British women competed in freestyle skiing events, one each in the aerials, moguls and ski cross. Sarah Sauvey became the first Briton to compete in Olympic ski cross, as the sport was making its debut in Vancouver. She finished 34th in the qualifying rounds missing out on the medal rounds by two places.[29]

Women's - Aerials and Moguls
Athlete Event Qualifying Final
Points Rank Points Rank
Sarah Ainsworth Aerials 105.36 22 Did not advance
Ellie Koyander Moguls 18.98 24 Did not advance
Women's Ski cross
Athlete Event Qualifying 1/8 finals Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Time Rank Position Position Position Position Rank
Sarah Sauvey Ski cross 1:24.52 34 Did not advance

Luge

Main article: Luge at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Britain's sole competitor in luge was Adam Rosen, an American-born athlete who had previously competed at the 2006 Games. The 25-year-old's 16th-place finished equalled his performance in Turin and was just one place off of the highest Winter Olympic finish by any British luger.[30]

Athlete Event Runs Final total Final rank
Run 1 Rank Run 2 Rank Run 3 Rank Run 4 Rank
Adam Rosen Men's singles 48.896
- 		16
- 		49.005
(1:37:901) 		18
(16) 		49.259
(2:27.160) 		15
(15) 		48.856
(3:16.016) 		19
(16) 		3:16.016 16

Cumulative time and standings given in brackets.

Short track speed skating

Main article: Short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Britain qualified six athletes in individual short track speed skating events. In the men's events four skaters competed, with Anthony Douglas and Jon Eley each racing at two distances; a team also qualified for the relay event. Eley achieved the squad's best individual finish, coming sixth in 500 metres, a position matched by the relay team.[31] In the women's events Elise Christie raced in the 500, 1000 and 1500 metres and Sarah Lindsay also took part in the 500 metres but was disqualified in her heat following a clash with Canada's Jessica Gregg.[32]

Men
Athlete Event Heat Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
Time Position Time Position Time Position Time Position Rank
Anthony Douglas 1500 m 2:16.622 4 N/A Did not advance
Jon Eley 500 m 42.081 1 Q 41.875 1 Q 41.504 4 QB 42.681 3 6
1000 m 1:25.588 4 N/A Did not advance
Tom Iveson 1000 m 1:27.841 4 N/A Did not advance
Jack Whelbourne 1500 m 2:14.972 3 Q N/A 2:17.156 5 Did not advance
Paul Worth 500 m 42.936 3 N/A Did not advance
Anthony Douglas
Jon Eley
Tom Iveson
Jack Whelbourne
Paul Worth 		5000 m relay N/A 6:50.618 4 QB 6:50.045 1 6
Women
Event Athlete Heat Semifinal Final
Time Position Time Position Time Position
Elise Christie 500 m 44.374 2 Q 44.821 3 Did not advance
1000 m 1:31.363 3 Did not advance
1500 m 2:23.898 4 Did not advance
Sarah Lindsay 500 m 44.716 2 Q DSQ 4 Did not advance

Key: Q=Qualified for next round, QB=Qualified for B final

Skeleton

Main article: Skeleton at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Women's skeleton gold medalist Amy Williams

Four British athletes qualified for the skeleton events. Amy Williams won Britain's only medal of the Games, a gold in the women's skeleton. Williams became the first British gold medalist in an individual event at the Winter Olympics for thirty years, following Robin Cousins' victory in figure skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, and the first British female individual Winter Olympics gold medalist since Jeannette Altwegg in 1952.[33] Shelley Rudman, Britain's only medalist at the 2006 Olympics, finished sixth in the women's event and her fiancé, Kristan Bromley, finished in the same position in the men's event.[34]

Athletes Event Final Total Final rank
Run 1 Rank Run 2 Rank Run 3 Rank Run 4 Rank
Kristan Bromley Men's skeleton 52.91
- 		7
- 		52.89
(1:45.80) 		5
(5) 		52.70
(2:38.50) 		8
(6) 		52.80
(3:31.30) 		7
(6) 		3:31.30 6
Adam Pengilly Men's skeleton 53.75
- 		17
- 		54.17
(1:47.92) 		22
(20) 		53.36
(2:41.28) 		18
(18) 		52.23
(3:34.51) 		14
(18) 		3:34.51 18
Shelley Rudman Women's skeleton 54.66
- 		11
- 		54.26
(1:48.92) 		6
(7) 		53.95
(2:42.87) 		7
(7) 		53.82
(3:36.69) 		1
(6) 		3:36.69 6
Amy Williams Women's skeleton 53.83*
- 		1
- 		54.13
(1:47.96) 		2
(1) 		53.68*
(2:41.64) 		1
(1) 		54.00
(3:35.64) 		4
(1) 		3:35.64 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Cumulative time and standings given in brackets.

Key: * New track records

Snowboarding

Main article: Snowboarding at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Four British snowboarders qualified for the Games. Ben Kilner qualified 7th and progressed through the semifinals, however finished 18th in the Final for the Men's halfpipe. Reserve Marcijan Harasymiw crashed on his second run and did not advance due to injury. Zoe Gillings reached the semifinals of the women's snowboard cross and finished in eighth position overall.[35]

Halfpipe
Athlete Event Qualification Semifinals Final
Run 1 Run 2 Rank Run 1 Run 2 Rank Run 1 Run 2 Rank
Ben Kilner Men's halfpipe 21.5 32.1 7 Q 3.1 17.0 12 Did not advance 18
Lesley McKenna Women's halfpipe 5.1 2.8 30 Did not advance
Parallel giant slalom
Athlete Event Qualification 1/8 finals Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
Time Rank Opposition
margin 		Opposition
margin 		Opposition
margin 		Opposition
margin 		Rank
Marcijan Harasymiw Men's parallel giant slalom 1:21.09 24 Did not advance
Snowboard cross
Athletes Event Qualification Quarterfinals Semifinals Small final Rank
Time Rank Position Position Position
Zoe Gillings Women's snowboard cross 1:27.93 8 Q 2 Q 3 4 8

See also

References

  1. ^ "Shelley Rudman to carry GB flag at Vancouver 2010 opening ceremony". London: guardian.co.uk. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Amy Williams to carry British flag at closing ceremony". guardian.co.uk. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Team GB". British Olympic Association. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Full text of the constitution" (PDF). taoiseach.gov.ie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2005. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Olympic Schedule and Results". Official Vancouver 2010 website. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  6. ^ "UK Sport targets three British Winter Olympic medals". BBC Sport. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  7. ^ "Winter Olympics - GB set tough medal target for Vancouver". Eurosport. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  8. ^ a b Anna Thompson (13 August 2009). "British skiing hit by cash crisis". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Snowsport GB failure hits team". Financial Times. 6 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  10. ^ "Chemmy Alcott says money worries may force her to quit". BBC Sport. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  11. ^ Wiltshire, Lewis (25 February 2010). "Team GB chiefs defend lowly medal haul". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Alain Baxter on the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver". BBC Sport. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  13. ^ "Chemmy Alcott hits out at critics after her Winter Olympics end". London: guardian.co.uk. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  14. ^ "Sweden's Bjorn Ferry swoops to pursuit victory". BBC Sport. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  15. ^ "Former sprinter Allyn Condon in Winter Olympics squad". BBC sport. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  16. ^ a b "British bobsleigh pair crash out". BBC sport. 21 February 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke struggle to tenth in the women's bobsleigh". London: guardian.co.uk. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  18. ^ "British bobsleigh pair unscathed after suffering terrifying crash". London: guardian.co.uk. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  19. ^ Ryan Bangs (16 February 2010). "Musgrave, Young and Hughes making promising Olympic debuts". morethanthegames.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  20. ^ "Musgrave thinking big after Olympic debut". morethanthegames.co.uk. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 March 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  21. ^ Hart, Simon; Magnay, Jacquelin (25 February 2010). "Winter Olympics 2010: twin disappointment sees Team GB medal target slide out of reach". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  22. ^ Broadbent, Rick (24 February 2010). "Tears, tantrums and Olympic Games over for Britain's curling team". London: timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  23. ^ Lukas, Jennifer (17 January 2010). "Murdoch, Muirhead named to GBR Olympic team". ctvolympics.ca. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  24. ^ "Late switch for women's curlers as Laird comes in for reserve Addison". The Scotsman. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  25. ^ "International Skating Union Communication No. 1589: Olympic Winter Games 2010 - Entries/Participation Single & Pair Skatng [sic] And Ice Dance". International Skating Union. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  26. ^ "BOA confirm figure skating squad for Vancouver Olympics". 30 November 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  27. ^ "ISU World Standings for Figure Skating and Ice Dance : Ice Dance". International Skating Union. 29 January 2010. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  28. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/12987800
  29. ^ "McIvor eases to ski cross victory". BBC Sport. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  30. ^ Hart, Simon (15 February 2010). "Winter Olympics 2010: Nodar Kumaritashvili's death a turning point in luge, says Adam Rosen". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  31. ^ "Britain's John Eley falls short in speed skating". BBC Sport. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  32. ^ "Sarah Lindsay angry after short track disqualification". BBC Sport. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  33. ^ "Amy Williams wins historic gold medal at Winter Olympics". Bath Chronicle. 20 February 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  34. ^ Chittenden, Maurice; Longmore, Andrew (21 February 2010). "'Curly Wurly' puts end to 30 year freeze". London: timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  35. ^ "Canadian Maelle Ricker cruises to snowboard gold". BBC Sport. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.

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