Team GB won its second gold of the Winter Olympics thanks to Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes in the historic mixed snowboard cross, with jubilant families giving a chaotic celebration interview to the BBC
The father of Team GB gold medallist Huw Nightingale playfully ribbed his son about clinching gold for Britain rather than Austria, considering their connections to the Alpine nation, as the ecstatic families of the country’s newest champions delivered a raucous interview to the BBC.
Nightingale formed half of the squad that claimed Team GB’s second gold medal of the Winter Olympics, triumphing in the Mixed Snowboard Cross alongside Charlotte Bankes.
Both boarders had endured setbacks in their solo competitions late last week, crashing out during the round of 16 and quarter-final phases respectively. However, they rebounded magnificently by creating Winter Olympics history and becoming the first Britons to claim gold on the snow slopes.
After their victory, Nightingale’s parents, Clive and Christine, chatted to the BBC, with both athletes’ relatives and friends clearly revelling in the festivities. The segment kicked off with a massive group draped in Union Jacks, chanting and leaping about.
Clive informed the BBC: “We have had an absolutely fantastic half an hour, who would have believed it, both of them pulled it out of the bag when it needed to be.”
The family relocated to Austria during Nightingale’s childhood, though his father highlighted how he was still competing for Britain. “Westendorf has a gold medal-winning, I’m afraid to say, GB athlete, as opposed to an Austrian athlete,” he said.
During the jovial chat, he continued: “I cry at anything. Long Lost Families, Steve McQueen getting caught in barbed wire in the Great Escape, but this is an indescribable feeling.”
Christine expressed her pride, saying: “Huw played a blinder today. He wasn’t just playing safe to give Charlotte the best chance. He really attacked. We’re so proud of him.”
The interview concluded with the group again erupting into song and celebratory jumps. When the camera returned to presenter Jeanette Kwakye, she was seen covering her face in laughter, exclaiming: “They brought the energy.”
The gold medal winners also shared their thoughts. “Not real, not real, it’s not real so far,” Nightingale confessed to the BBC after receiving his medal.
Bankes, who clinched the victory for Britain with her race win, admitted: “I’m lost for words.
“It’s been a struggle, it’s been a tough few weeks, it’s been a tough few months actually, but we’ve got massive support, thanks to the National Lottery. I’ve had an incredible team around me, through the rehab as well, and the team here, we managed to regroup after the individual, it wasn’t easy but, yeah, we used our families here and the team and I think that was what was important.
“Jerome said we need to use that, we need to be together, and I think that’s what we did the night of the individual, and that really helped us to bounce back, come out here and have fun. It was the main aim.
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“Everybody that’s supported us, the whole team around us, because, I think what’s amazing as a team event, it just means that the team is World Champion…Olympic Champion, sorry,” she joked, feigning an exit from the interview until Jenny Jones, the interviewer, called her back saying, “get back here and show us your medals.”
Following Matt Weston’s Skeleton gold on Friday night, Team GB has made history by winning two events in the same Winter Olympics for the first time. This gold also marks Team GB’s first victory on snow, surpassing Jenny Jones’ bronze in snowboard slopestyle at Sochi 2014.
Nightingale completed his leg in second place, trailing France’s Loan Bozzolo by a mere 0.14 seconds. Bankes then managed to close this small gap, overtaking France’s Lea Casta in the final moments to finish first, 0.43 seconds ahead of Italy’s Michela Moioli.
This Olympic gold medal is a brilliant addition to the World Championship title the pair clinched back in 2023.
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