Britain's skiers and boarders dreaming big for Beijing Games

After a disappointing showing at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Britain's skiers and snowboarders are determined to bounce back in style at Beijing 2022.

Britain managed just two medals on the snow in South Korea, but with their preparations going well, the Brits are bullish about their chances of beating that tally in Beijing in two years' time.

"We're aiming for around eight medals, but that's not set in stone," said Vicky Gosling, CEO of GB Snowsport. "We've got such a diverse set of athletes. Athletes at the top end of the pyramid are already delivering.

"We obviously have some World Cups we are focusing on a lot and we put our athletes first, making sure that they are fit for the snow. And obviously the best training that they can have is on the mountain. So we have them literally training across the world. Everybody's out there racing and the results have been fantastic."

GB Snowsport is aiming to establish Britain as one of the top five Olympic ski and snowboarding nations by 2030.

"It's particularly ambitious when we don't have big mountains or much snow," Gosling said. "However, that comes with having the strength and depth across different disciplines and the ability to medal in different disciplines.

"What we've done is to create some depth underneath that vision by setting some pillars out there."

The pillars are built on the principle of putting athletes first, in terms of world-class coaching and training locations.

"We know what it takes to win in Britain. We've seen it in cycling. We've seen it in rowing and it's taking those lessons that we've learned and actually putting them into our disciplines, which is really helpful," said Gosling.

Around two million Brits go skiing at least once every three years, and Gosling added: "It's a sport that can bring the family together. It doesn't matter about each individual's standard, you can all get on the slopes."

Most British skiers visit the likes of France and Italy to hit the slopes, but many also get their first taste of skiing or snowboarding at one of the 60-plus dry slopes across the UK.

Fifteen-year-old Kirsty Muir, who took silver for Britain at last month's Youth Winter Olympics in Switzerland, spends almost every weekend on an indoor dry slope in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Last month in Lausanne, Muir finished just 1.25 points behind China's gold medalist Gu Ailing in the women's freestyle ski Big Air final.

Gosling has already visited three Beijing 2022 venues and was impressed by what she saw.

"The passion and the vision and what they are going to be putting on in Beijing, it's going to blow people's minds," she said.

XINHUA