Balancing at the top of a chute of snow and ice, high in the Italian Alps, Zoe Atkin plugged in her tunes and dropped. The 23-year-old was beaming before she even slowed to a halt at the bottom of the half-pipe, a bronze medal already in the bag. She jumped for joy before the tears began in earnest on the podium, a lifetime dream fulfilled.
A little over 12 hours earlier, GB’s quartet of curlers tried to hold back their own tears, collecting medals 200km away in Cortina. They had been the better team for much of an edgy final against Canada, but walked away feeling like they had lost gold rather than won silver. It remains to be seen whether the four will reunite for one more go in the French Alps, the next bonanza of winter sport, in four years.
