Zoe Atkin Winter Olympics: zoe atkin winter olympics bronze in Livigno caps Team GB's fifth medal

zoe atkin winter olympics brought a long-held ambition to the podium in Livigno, where the 23‑year‑old won halfpipe bronze and secured Great Britain’s fifth medal at the Milan‑Cortina Games. The result matched the family feat of her sister and left the British team celebrating while some figures questioned the judging in a dramatic final.

Drama in Livigno: scores, heights and a 22‑foot wall of ice

The women's halfpipe final in Livigno ended with China’s Eileen Gu taking gold with a score of 94. 75 and Li Fanghui claiming silver with 93. 00. Zoe Atkin improved her final run to 92. 50, finishing just half a point behind silver. At one stage in the contest Atkin flew five metres in the air — a metre more than Gu and nearly two metres higher than Li — over what was described as a 22‑foot wall of ice as competitors twisted and spun on the final run.

Family legacy and a mirror of Pyeongchang: Zoe Atkin Winter Olympics and Izzy’s bronze

Atkin, 23, said the moment completed a personal circle that began in 2018, when, as a 15‑year‑old, she watched her big sister Izzy win Winter Olympic bronze for Team GB in the Pyeongchang slopestyle. She said, "She's always been my biggest inspiration, she pushed me into the sport, she was always bullying me to jump off things on the mountain. " She added that Izzy was there supporting her and that she had been present when Izzy won her medal. The bronze matches her sister Izzy’s 2018 medal, a fact Atkin described as "a real full‑circle moment. " Her mother is "claiming that she's the first parent to have two Olympic medallists for GB in the family. "

Team GB's haul at the Milan‑Cortina Games and records equalled

Atkin's bronze was the fifth medal for Great Britain at the Milan‑Cortina Games, following three golds and a silver, equalling the team's record‑best haul from 2014 and 2018. Team GB had secured golds in the mixed team snowboarding, mixed team skeleton and men's singles skeleton; the team also took silver in the men's curling. The total of five medals was previously achieved in 2014 and 2018. Commented milestones included Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale having secured the second of those golds in the mixed team snowboard cross exactly a week earlier, and the pair of golds that came last weekend when Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale won mixed team snowboarding and Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker won mixed team skeleton — the first time Team GB had secured two gold medals on a single day of any previous Winter Games. It was also noted that Weston separately took the men's singles skeleton title, giving him a second gold at these Games. At the same time, Team GB missed out on a gold in the men's curling after losing to Canada in a tense final led by Bruce Mouat, leaving the curling side with silver — a repeat of their result from Beijing in 2022. One line in the coverage stated that "Never before had Great Britain won more than one gold at a single Winter Games. "

Atkin's route into the final: X Games, world title and Olympic experience

Atkin entered her second Olympics fresh from success on the big‑air circuit and the world stage: she had won the superpipe competition at last month's Aspen X Games and arrived as the reigning world champion. She had finished ninth on her Olympic debut in Beijing four years earlier and qualified into this final in first place. Atkin, from Massachusetts, whose father is British and who has held dual UK‑American citizenship since birth, said she had been nervous and "played it a little bit safe on my first run" before she "stepped it up a little bit on my third run. " She also said, "I've been working on my run for the past four years, even longer, and to be able to come back to the Olympics and be on the podium means so much to me. " Atkin had already secured a medal before dropping into her final run and, with the pressure off, raised her score to 92. 50.

Judging debate and reactions from the British team and coaching staff

The result prompted debate within the British camp. The team believed their world champion had been harshly done by in the scoring, and Vicky Gosling, chief executive of GB Snowsport, said, "The minimum I thought she was going to get was silver, " adding, "There are men that would struggle with the height Zoe actually gets. " Coach Joe Schuster urged caution on criticism of officials: "Judging is a tough thing. I don't want to say anything negative, " he said. "I'm super happy. But if she had ended up higher than a bronze, I wouldn't have been surprised. " Schuster also described the night's competition as the greatest women's halfpipe event ever. Atkin herself reflected on the pressure: "I was so stressed out and so nervous, so I'm just super stoked, " she said. "To be on the podium means so much to me. "

Meanwhile the gold medallist Eileen Gu, 22, whose final score was 94. 75, was described as having taken her first gold of these Games after two silvers. She has, by other counts in the coverage, become the most decorated freeskier in history with six Olympic medals. Coverage noted she switched allegiances from the United States to China in 2019, is an IMG model and a Stanford University student, and used a metaphor for her schedule: "I kind of liken it to a marathon, but the pace of a 100m dash, " adding, "Because I had to give 100% every day. " Seven of her friends from Stanford were present to support her and remarked on small personal details such as her love of sushi and chocolate lava cake and a slightly messy dorm room; commentary also noted a different reaction on social media in the United States, and that Gu did not appear bothered by that response.