Winter Olympics: Charlotte Bankes 'annoyed' after uncharacteristic mistake dashed medal hopes in snowboard cross - 'It didn't work'

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Team GB's wait for a first medal at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics continued, after Charlotte Bankes fell short with defeat in the snowboard cross quarter-finals. Bankes had been tipped for success and put down a strong run to advance in the round of 32 stage - but had her hopes of acquiring hardware dashed early on - as British hopes for success now shift to the skeleton.

'I messed up again' - GB's Bankes emotional after missing out on medal

Video credit: TNT Sports

Great Britain's Charlotte Bankes was knocked out in the snowboard cross quarter-finals on Friday as Team GB suffered more medal heartbreak at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

Bankes had put down a solid, if not spectacular, run during the seeding stage to place ninth, but she calmed fears with a stellar showing to win her first clash of the knockouts.

But it all went wrong in the quarter-finals as she made an early mistake and was playing catch-up from the off.

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Bankes collided with Switzerland's Sina Siegenthaler near the line, but even a jury decision would not have made a difference, so far was she behind the two who did qualify, Eva Adamczykova of Poland and Australia's Josie Baff.

And it was Baff and Adamczykova who wound up winning gold and silver respectively - the former crossing fastest after seeding 17th in the morning to win a shock gold for Australia.

Bankes' exit served as an unfortunate repeat, having fallen at the exact same stage in Beijing four years ago, meaning she has yet to record a medal on the Olympic stage.

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The British star - whose preparations for the Olympics were blighted by a broken collarbone suffered last year - was critical of her performance when speaking to TNT Sports.

"I mean, unfortunately I made too many mistakes and we know it's a track you can't make any mistakes on," she said. "That was it, I was behind. It's annoying because I had a very good start until the mistake, which I've never made. It's the first time I've made that mistake. So that's annoying.

"Then I was in the back trying to stay calm and generate speed, but I was fighting against Sina before being able to catch up Josie and Eva. That was an extremely strong heat. It was a tough heat, but I know if I want to win I have to beat everyone anyway, it doesn't matter. But yeah, it didn't work out.

"I wasn't really that close to be honest, and I didn't manage to go for that photo-finish, so yeah, we knew it was going to be tight. It didn't work.

"It's tough to finish like this. We were really aiming for a better result today, that was the focus."

Bankes was the latest Team GB medal hope to fall short.

Matt Weston now represents the strongest chance at becoming the first Brit to acquire hardware heading into Friday, as he sits in pole position after the opening two runs of the men's skeleton.

Bankes will return for the mixed team event alongside Huw Nightingale, and she said she needs to "up my game" ahead of her return to the board.

"Huw is riding really well, and I'm going to have to up my game," Bankes said. "Everybody has worked incredibly hard, that's made it worse. I feel like I'm disappointing everybody like this. My family is here as well. It's tough to not be out there fighting, but everybody works so hard, incredibly hard to find solutions, and unfortunately I messed up again."

'It showcases how harsh Olympic sport can be'

In TNT Sports' studio, former Olympic snowboarder Aimee Fuller said the tiny margin for error showed just how difficult competing at this stage can be.

On the course, she said: "There's very little room for aggression and that quick change of pace, unless someone falls.

"The brutal reality of this, it showcases how harsh Olympic sport can be. Charlotte Bankes has trained for this event for four years, and it can be over in a split second. I imagine huge heartache for Charlotte Bankes. It's definitely not the result she wanted or expected."

TNT Sports' Ed Drake, meanwhile, agreed with Bankes' assessment that the early mistake ultimately proved costly.

"It's so hard - absolutely gutted," Drake said. "She came in with so much good form. She would've been a bit disappointed with her seeding, but she came into the first heat and looked good.

"She just tripped up on some of the features at the top, was just playing catch-up the whole way down. She had to make up so much time and on a course which is relatively mellow, and doesn't allow you to really build-up speed. The minute she made those mistakes at the top, it's too little too late."

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

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