Five GB Winter Sport Athletes to Look Out for at Milan-Cortina 2026

29th September 2024

The International Olympic Committee has posted about the likely ones to watch and they include alpine skier Dave Ryding and snowboarder, Mia Brookes. NEW

They are at the opposite end of their careers and have been highlighted by the IOC.

Dave Ryding is 37-years-old, while Mia Brokes is 17-years-old.

Here’s what the IOC says about Dave:

“The Rocket”, is Britain’s most successful alpine and has no plans to stop despite entering veteran territory – in the sporting world, that is – at 37 years old

He has competed in four Winter Olympics and says he plans to make it five in 2026, having said last year he will continue to compete “until the legs fall off”.

That was after some hesitation over whether he could handle another four-year Olympic cycle, but ahead of his 16th World Cup season, Ryding has said he is now over the “hump”.

“I’ve done two years, it’s actually less than two years now to the Olympics. I’m still able to do seasons that are better than ever I’ve ever done before,” he told BBC Sport. “If everything goes to plan, I’ll be there.”

The World Cup campaign for Ryding begins in Levi, Finland on 16-17 November as he is a slalom specialist.

He topped the podium at Kitzbhel two years ago.

Ryding has been on the podium on six more occasions, while at the Olympics his best placing was ninth in the slalom at Pyeongchang in 2018.

A wet Dave Ryding after the Schladming night slalom 2024. Image © PlanetSKI

Dave Ryding looks ahead to racing next season

Here’s what the IOC says about Mia:

No longer just a future star, 17-year-old snowboarder Mia Brookes is now mixing it with the best in the world.

After winning gold and silver in the big air and slopestyle events at the Junior World Championships in 2022, a year later she won slopestyle gold in the World Championshipe proper.

The Chesire-born teenager has since won several accolades, including the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2023, while her 2024-25 season is already underway.

In early September, Brookes finishing second in the slopestyle season-opening World Cup event in Cardrona, New Zealand, but only after the finals were cancelled due to weather – and scores from qualification were taken.

Brookes will next be in action at the big air event in Chur, Switzerland on 19 October, with a packed schedule also taking in Beijing, Aspen and Calgary on top of other Alpine destinations until March.

Also highlighted by the International Olympic Committee in its list of five GB athletes:

The 30-year old curler Bruce Mouat
The ice dancing partners Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson

Another GB snowsport athlete mentioned is the 20-year-old freestyle skier, Kirsty Muir.

She goes down as a GB medal hope at the 2026 Olympics, having shown much promise as a young athlete already.

Muir won big air silver at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics.

She is on the comeback trail after a season-ending injury in December last year.

What had been her best season to date ended with a serious knee injury, Muir rupturing her ACL despite placing third at the Freeski Big Air World Cup event in Copper Mountain, USA.