Winter Olympics 2026: Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale win snowboard cross gold to give Team GB historic second gold of Milano Cortina Games

Great Britain's Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale produced a stunning performance to win gold in the mixed team snowboard cross final on Sunday, claiming Team GB's second gold of the Games. They made the final with relative ease, with Bankes able to chase down and pass France's Lea Casta to cross the line first and complete her Olympic redemption.

Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale won a shock gold in the mixed team snowboard cross for Great Britain on Sunday, the second gold of the games for Team GB.

It's the first time that Great Britain has ever won two gold medals at the same Winter Olympics, and the first time Britain has ever won an Olympic title on snow.

For Bankes, it is a story of redemption of failing to medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and then making a key error and failing to make the final of the individual event at these games in Milano Cortina.

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"What a redemption story for Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes! At their absolute best. After the heartbreaking interview we had from Charlotte Bankes, she is now an Olympic champion," Ian Findlay on TNT Sports commentary said. 

"What a moment, what a race - what a final from Nightingale and Bankes. Nightingale, every single run - that was some of the best riding he has ever done. 

"And then Bankes put those mistakes she made in the individual behind her. Great Britain have got new Olympic champions. What a moment, Great Britain’s second gold of the Games."

Watch: Up close with GB's NEW gold medallists at the finish of their snowboard cross triumph

Video credit: TNT Sports

In the quarter-finals, Nightingale finished third but Bankes' run was superb as she put GB through along with Australia 2.

And in the semi-finals it was the same story as Bankes dug deep in her run to pull GB through to the big final, this time with France 2.

In the final, Nightingale was out first, and ran second for the entire race. With Adam Lambert of Team Australia having an issue near the finish, it took the pressure off Nightingale, who was able to coast over the line. 

But then the run was labelled as under review, to see if Lambert had been impeded at all. That created a delay for the women - ramping up the pressure. 

Lea Casta of France was let out first - and she led through the opening stages. But Bankes was able to close in, and she made the pass three quarters of the way through the race, and just had to hold on across the line to take a famous and historic gold.

TNT Sports pundit Aimee Fuller said: "They have overcome adversity, they have jumped every single hurdle just to get here.

"We felt the momentum watching, tuning in as at any single moment in the sport of bordercross it can go so, so wrong.

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"This moment will go down in the history books of snow sport, snowboarding and Team GB as one of the most iconic.

"And just the fact it was the pair of them together - it shows reliance, it shows team work and it shows who we are as a team, one team, Team GB.

"And it makes me so incredibly proud to be British."

Charlotte Bankes leads the way in Sunday's dramatic final at the Winter Olympics

Image credit: Getty Images

Sunday's success was even more stunning when you consider the sheer levels of disappointment for Bankes just a few days ago following the individual event.

Bankes was disconsolate to say the least after that event, saying: "I'm putting it down to me, my choices, my mistakes.

"I just never made the right choice of line, was never in the right position to overtake.

"I feel like I’ve done exactly the same as four years ago. We have worked incredibly hard to improve that but I haven’t made any difference today.

"I have been struggling with the track all the week but we thought we found solutions. I really wanted this one. Too many mistakes.

"I’m sorry, I was hoping to put on a better show. It can be cruel. We have worked incredibly hard over the last four years to get a good result.

"Unfortunately, the team did all the work behind me and I didn’t manage to pull it off."

But that story soon changed, as Bankes - along with Nightingale - wrote her name into the Olympic history books.

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Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.

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