The UK may have a tiny ski and snowboard scene compared to our continental neighbours, but we’ve always punched above our weight. There was Alain Baxter’s bronze medal in 2002, of course (which has always counted to our minds, the Court of Arbitration for Sport process which stripped him of it was a travesty), but it’s in the slopestyle and big air disciplines, introduced since 2014, where Brits have enjoyed the most Olympic success.
"It’s always going to be hard to train downhill skiers in the UK, but snowdomes are hothouses for freestyle talent"
Jenny Jones won a bronze at the first games where snowboard slopestyle was included, in Sochi 2014. Izzy Aitken followed suit in ski slopestyle’s first outing, in Pyeongchang 2018, and Billy Morgan bagged bronze in snowboard big air at the same Olympics.
It makes sense when you think about it. It’s always going to be hard to train downhill skiers in the UK, given the size of the mountains you need to run a decent race. (It’s no coincidence that both Baxter and the UK’s current leading alpine skier, Dave Ryding, compete in slalom, the most compact discipline.) But the UK’s snowdomes and dryslopes, where young skiers and snowboarders can ride the same rails and kickers on repeat, have proved to be hothouses for freestyle talent.
This year, the contingent heading to Milano Cortina under the Team GB banner is particularly strong—particularly in the freestyle events. Here are the top medal contenders. To find out when to watch them in action and how to stream the Olympics in the UK, check out our full guide to when the ski and snowboard Olympic events are happening here.
Mia Brookes – Snowboard Slopestyle & Big Air
Hailing from the snowy Mecca of errr… Manchester, Mia Brookes learned to ride at the Chill FactorE, but that hasn’t stopped her from rising to the top of the international snowboard scene, and beating all comers in recent seasons.
She won her first FIS Slopestyle World Championships in early 2023, and claimed the overall title for Big Air for the 2023-24 season. She topped the X Games slopestyle podium in January 2024, and continued her run of stellar form in both events last winter, winning a gold, a silver and two bronzes in Slopestyle World Cups once again claiming the overall Big Air title.
Renowned for her laid back steeze and baggy pants, Mia is as cool off the snow as she is skilled on it. Which might be part of why she was voted the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the year at the end of 2024.
Zoe Atkin – Ski Halfpipe
Zoe Atkin was born and learned to ski in the US, but her dad is British and she has always competed for Team GB. Her performance in recent seasons indicates she'll be a formidable competitor in this notoriously technical discipline.
She took gold at the 2025 FIS World Championships, having won silver at the 2023 edition. In addition, she's won a bronze and a silver at the X Games and collected numerous World Cup medals. She hails from a super talented family—her sister Izzy won an Olympic bronze in slopestyle at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, an achievement Zoe aims to match—or even surpass—in Livigno.
Kirsty Muir - Ski Slopestyle & Big Air
Much like her friend Mia Brookes, Muir has long been tipped as “one to watch” by those in the know in the British ski and snowboard scene. Unlike Brookes, she has some Olympic experience already—she was just old enough to compete at the Beijing Games, and despite being the youngest member of Team GB, she achieved a respectable 5th place in Big Air and 8th in Slopestyle.
Since those Games, she's racked up a whole host more impressive results, including World Cup podium finishes and two X Games medals. She capped off the 2024/25 season by securing her first-ever World Cup victory in Tignes, France, and the hope is that there are greater things still to come.
Dave Ryding - Ski Slalom
Dave Ryding is the most successful alpine skier the UK has ever produced. In 2022, he made history by becoming the first—and, to date, only—British alpine skier to claim a gold medal in the 60-year existence of the World Cup competition. And this was far from a one-off—over the course of his long and distinguished career, he has achieved multiple top 10s. Not bad for someone from Bretherton, Lancashire, who honed his skills on a local dry slope.
You can read our recent interview with Dave Ryding, and his guide to his home resort of Gurgl, in Austria, here.
Charlotte Bankes - Snowboard Cross
Born in the UK but raised in France, Charlotte Bankes has been recognized as one of the world's premier snowboard cross racers for several years. Her strong form leading into Beijing 2022 positioned her as a medal contender. However, the unpredictable, four-rider chaos of snowboard cross means nothing is guaranteed, and a minor error led to her elimination at the quarter-final stage.
Since then, her riding has shown continuous improvement. Last winter, she earned gold in multiple World Cup events, triumphing in races held in China, Turkey, Georgia, and Cortina d'Ampezzo. While the Olympic snowboard cross event will of course be held in Livigno, not Cortina, we still reckon it counts as a good omen—and in a discipline where (as the Beijing incident proved) you need everything to go your way, a little bit of luck always helps.
