Zoe Atkin Winter Olympics — zoe atkin winter olympics: Atkin wins halfpipe bronze in Livigno

zoe atkin winter olympics culminated in a halfpipe bronze for the 23-year-old at the women’s final in Livigno, Italy, lifting Team GB to a fifth medal at the Milan–Cortina Games. Atkin improved to 92. 50 on her final run, finishing behind Eileen Gu and Li Fanghui.

Atkin's final run and score

Atkin had already secured a medal before she dropped into the pipe for her final run and, with the pressure off, improved her score to 92. 50. That mark left her just half a point shy of silver. China’s Eileen Gu won gold with 94. 75 and Li Fanghui took silver with 93. 00. At one stage during a spectacular final run, Atkin flew five metres in the air — a metre more than Gu and nearly two metres higher than Li — yet was awarded 92. 5.

Gu’s decisive run included sliding down a 22-foot wall of ice before twisting and spinning high above the halfpipe. Gu said: "I kind of liken it to a marathon, but the pace of a 100m dash. Because I had to give 100% every day. " She added: "But I'm not afraid to try. I take big risks. And for the last two Olympics, it's worked out. But even if it hadn't, I think I left nothing on the table. "

Family and early Olympic inspiration

Atkin, who is 23, watched her big sister Izzy win Olympic bronze for Team GB in Pyeongchang in 2018 when she was 15, and the moment lit a long-standing ambition. "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, " Atkin said. "After watching her [win the medal] it's always been a huge goal for me. It's a real full-circle moment because she was here supporting me, and I was there when she won her bronze medal, so it's really special. Obviously I wanted to one-up her a bit but it's really special that we both have the bronze. My mum is claiming that she's the first parent to have two Olympic medallists for GB in the family. "

Atkin became only the second British athlete to win an Olympic medal on skis, keeping the honour in the family after Izzy's Pyeongchang slopestyle bronze. She came into her second Olympics fresh from winning X Games gold and as the reigning world champion, seeking to improve on the ninth-place finish she recorded in Beijing four years earlier. She had also won the superpipe competition at last month's Aspen X Games, and is from Massachusetts; her father is British and she has held dual UK–American citizenship since birth.

Judging, reaction and controversy in Livigno

There was controversy and debate after the result, with the British team believing Atkin had been harshly done by. Vicky Gosling said: "The minimum I thought she was going to get was silver. There are men that would struggle with the height Zoe actually gets. We're absolutely delighted that we've got a medal. But did I take a big intake? I probably did. " Coach Joe Schuster added: "Judging is a tough thing. I don't want to say anything negative. I'm super happy. But if she had ended up higher than a bronze, I wouldn't have been surprised. "

Atkin herself described the emotional build-up: "I was so stressed out and so nervous, so I'm just super stoked. To be on the podium means so much to me. " Earlier she had been quoted as saying: "I've dreamed about this" about winning an Olympic medal.

Team GB's record-equalling medal haul

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. The Games had already yielded unprecedented domestic success: Team GB secured golds in the mixed team snowboarding, mixed team skeleton and men's singles skeleton events, and narrowly missed out in the men's curling to take silver.

Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale secured the second of those golds in the mixed team snowboard cross exactly a week ago, a moment described as moving the team to its most successful Winter Olympics. Last weekend Team GB made history with two golds: Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale in the mixed team snowboarding, and Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker in the mixed team skeleton. It was the first time Team GB had secured two gold medals on a single day at any Winter Games. Matt Weston also separately took the men's singles skeleton title, his second gold at these Games.

In the men's curling final, the team led by Bruce Mouat lost to Canada and had to settle for silver, repeating their result from Beijing in 2022.

Zoe Atkin Winter Olympics reaction

The podium finish in Livigno met multiple personal and national storylines: Atkin matched her sister Izzy's 2018 bronze, she added a medal after coming in as X Games and world champion, and her score of 92. 50 sealed Team GB's fifth medal at these Games. Observers contrasted the airborne height Atkin achieved — measured at five metres on one run — with the judges' scores and paused on broader debate about scoring in the women's halfpipe.

Other Olympic notes from the Games included Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo setting a record with a fifth Olympic gold medal and 10th overall at these Winter Games. Eileen Gu was described as the most decorated freeskiier in history with six Olympic medals; she is 22 years old, has model ties as an IMG athlete, is a Stanford University student, switched allegiances from the US to China in 2019, and had seven friends from Stanford among those supporting her in Livigno.

Atkin's bronze in the halfpipe closes the immediate chapter in Livigno, adding to a Games that has already rewritten parts of Team GB's Winter Olympics history.