Medal hope Bankes ‘lost’ after quarter-final exit

Charlotte Bankes hoped to “put on a better show” as her Olympic hoodoo continued with a quarter-final exit from the snowboard cross – in another missed medal chance for Team GB.

Bankes, appearing at her fourth Games, is a former world champion and has 26 World Cup golds to her name, but an Olympic medal is the one that continues to evade her grasp.

Although slower than anticipated in her seeding run, the 30-year-old had qualified fastest from her heat but looked off the pace from the start of her quarter-final, crossing the finish line last.

It was the same story four years ago in Beijing when Bankes exited at the same stage, a crash to blame on that occasion.

Asked by BBC Sport how she was feeling, Bankes replied: “Lost.

“I feel like I’ve done exactly the same as four years ago, which is very frustrating.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard to improve from that and I feel it hasn’t made any difference today.

“I’ve been struggling with the track all week, but we thought we’d found solutions.

“I really wanted this one.”

Bankes’ preparations for these Games had not been ideal.

In April last year she broke her collarbone, an injury she needed further surgery – including a bone graft from her hip – on in the summer after it was found not to be healing correctly.

But she came into the Games back to full fitness and had won a gold medal at a World Cup in China just last month.

“It’s a tough one to swallow. I was hoping to put on a better show, but it didn’t work out today,” she added.

“It can be a cruel sport. The team did all the work behind me and I didn’t pull it off.”

Australia’s Josie Baff won gold, with Czech Eva Adamczykova taking silver and Italian home favourite and former champion Michela Moioli the bronze.

Bankes has just 48 hours to brush off her disappointment before she returns to the start gate alongside team-mate Huw Nightingale in the mixed team event.

Bankes and Nightingale were crowned world champions in 2023.

The Livigno Snow Park has not been a happy hunting ground so far for Team GB at the Milan-Cortina Games, and the wait goes on for a first Olympic gold or silver medal on snow.

In Tesero, Andrew Musgrave finished sixth in the 10km interval start freestyle to post Britain’s best finish in a Winter Olympic cross-country skiing event.

The 35-year-old, appearing at his fifth Games, battled warm conditions to clock a time of 21 minutes 6.3 seconds as Norwegian star Johannes Hosflot Klaebo won his record-equalling eighth Olympic gold.

Before Friday’s race, Musgrave’s – and Team GB’s – best result in the sport was seventh in the skiathlon in Pyeongchang in 2018.

GB team-mate Joe Davies was 12th, while James Clugnet was 34th.

Musgrave, who relocated to Norway 17 years ago, had to pause his interview with BBC Sport to vomit but said: “I was never going to be in the fight for a medal, but I probably should have got that fourth spot. But there isn’t a massive difference to sixth, without a medal.

Team GB’s men were left to rue a shocking first end as a stubborn fightback against hosts Italy in a throbbing Cortina Curling Stadium was not enough to prevent their first defeat of these Winter Olympics.

After winning their opening two matches, including against the Swedish rink who beat them in the gold-medal match four years ago, the British team went into their second high-grade encounter in two days in a strong position.

These British players are the world’s top-ranked rink for a reason though, and they slowly reeled in Italy, levelling in the ninth end.

However, the local favourites held firm in the last to win 9-7 and add the scalp of GB to that of the Swedes, who they beat in their opener.

“We had to dig deep and we played nine really good ends and controlled it from there, but we just couldn’t do enough to get the win,” lead Hammy McMillan told BBC Sport.

Seven wins from the nine round-robin matches will guarantee a place in the semi-finals – fewer may well still be sufficient – so Bruce Mouat’s rink are still in a strong spot before facing the Czech Republic on Saturday (13:05 GMT).

GB’s women are not in such good shape, though.

After mistakes cost them in their opener to China, another few moments of slackness undermined their attempts to beat South Korea on Friday.

Ultimately, the British rink fell to a 9-3 defeat and are now without a win in their opening two matches, with the daunting task of facing the three medal favourites – Canada, Sweden and Switzerland – in their next four games.