GB’s Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale make history with stunning Olympic gold in mixed snowboard cross

It was redemption for Bankes after heartbreaking early exits in the individual event in Beijing and Milano-Cortina and a historic first gold medal on snow for Team GB

Charlotte Bankes roared back from a disappointing quarter-final exit in the women’s snowboard cross to become Olympic champion for the first time in the mixed event alongside Huw Nightingale, making history with Team GB’s first ever Olympic gold on snow.

Their victory also cemented Milano-Cortina as Britain’s most successful Winter Olympics to date, despite a quieter start, having never previously won two golds at the same Games.

The 24-year-old Nightingale put down one of his best-ever runs at the Livigno Snow Park to put GB in second place ahead of the women’s wave, just 0.14 seconds behind France.

France’s Lea Casta stretched that lead to over a second in the top section of the 1.1km course, but Bankes played a patient game, storming back into contention with a brilliant undertake in the second half and holding off her rival to win Olympic gold by 0.43 seconds.

There was no dramatic celebration for Bankes, but the emotion was clear as Nightingale ran over to hug her at the finish and the pair jumped for joy on the podium.

It was redemption for the 30-year-old after a devastating early exit in the individual event on Friday, in the same round as she crashed out in Beijing four years ago.

It also capped a stunning return to the top of the sport after she broke her collarbone last April, with two surgeries and a lengthy rehab process threatening her participation in a fourth Olympics.

She only returned to competition in early December, but she and Nightingale demonstrated their potential with a win in the mixed World Cup event in Cervinia, Italy, that month.

Now, on their return to Italy, they have sealed the Olympic title, three years after winning Britain’s first-ever world title in the event.

Bankes summed up her feeling as “relief”. “Immense relief for me, but also for the team,” she said. “That's what's amazing. We've made it, we're Olympic champs: Huw's been running incredibly well, and that just shows the strength that we've got as a team. And to be able to perform as Team GB in a team event, I think is incredible, and I think it makes me nearly even more proud. Hopefully we can go into individual events now with a bit less weight on our shoulders to really perform at our best.”

Nightingale said: “It’s immense. I think we push each other well and for me, I know that Charlotte Bankes is behind me, and she's such an incredible rider that it kind of loosens me up. And I know that when I'm loose, I can ride really well, and I think we've shown that today. We're a great team. It's not just me and Charlotte, it's the coaches, the wax techs, the people around, and we just had a good one today.”

Bankes and Nightingale are Olympic champions for the first time (Reuters)

The pair both went to the pub after early exits in the individual events - “I wouldn’t go so far as a drinking session”, Nightingale said - to commiserate with their team and families. “Just to feel that home support, which we didn't have in Beijing, and I think that really helped us to regroup and then we went riding yesterday, just went out there, had fun, and enjoyed it. That was the main aim of today.”

Celebrations are on the cards tonight: Nightingale said, “it may be a bit worse than Billy Morgan tonight, so let's hope not! I'll have a few relaxing beers.” The 24-year-old was drowned out by chanting Austrians in the mixed zone, and he added: “I live in Austria now, and they drove three hours today to come see me, so I'm just grateful to put on a show for them and bring the gold medal back.”

France’s Loan Bozzolo dominated the men’s leg of the final, with Nightingale in a constant battle with Australia’s Adam Lambert for second before a late burst of speed.

Lambert crashed late after a coming-together with Italy’s Lorenzo Sommariva, meaning Australia’s individual gold medallist Josie Baff would have the maximum time deficit to make up – 4.16 – while Nightingale closed the gap on Bozzolo with an excellent finish to cross the line second, 0.14 seconds down.

An overjoyed Nightingale sprinted over to hug his teammate at the finish (Reuters)

Silver went to Italy’s Lorenzo Sommariva and Michele Moioli, the individual bronze medallist, with France’s Casta and Bozzolo taking bronze.

Snowboard cross is a chaotic, hugely dramatic event, in which racecraft and simple luck can be as important as power and speed. In the mixed event, the men race first, with their time gaps and final positions carried over into the women’s leg, and the times after the women’s leg determine the overall result. The top two from each “wave” advance.

Nightingale, who did not advance from the first round in his individual event, left Bankes with significant ground to make up after finishing third in his wave of the quarter-final, 1.09 seconds down on Canada’s Eliot Grondin.

Bankes won the semi-final with a brilliant overtake of Lea Casta of France (Reuters)

But Bankes stormed back, making up ground early in the 1.1km course in Livigno before cutting inside on a sweeping left-hander to edge into the lead, winning in a photo finish a mere 0.02 seconds ahead of Australia’s Mia Clift.

Nightingale was significantly quicker in the semi-final, only 0.03 seconds off Bozzolo, but there was a nervy moment immediately before Bankes’ wave of the race as she broke her bindings with moments to go in the start gate.

Getting the screwdrivers out moments before fighting to get into the final was less than ideal preparation, but it clearly didn’t put her off.

Casta made a lightning-quick start, and with Australia and Switzerland well off the pace, all Bankes needed to do was stick with the Frenchwoman. But she raced aggressively and overhauled Casta lower down the course, charging into the lead around the final bend with a risky overtake, and holding on to book her spot in the final with time to spare.

And she replicated that strategy in the final, having cleaned up the mistakes from Friday’s individual event and keeping a cool head to time her overtake to perfection - and clinch that long-awaited gold medal.

Bankes said: “I actually managed to let the instinct do talking and not really think about it. But I knew from the runs before, from training this morning, that I'd found my carving. I knew Lea was going to pull away a bit in that start section. She's one of the best starters in the world. I just focused on myself, and then used the draft and made the right choices. I really found my carving, found the speed out of the turns, which is one of my big strengths, and then it was just letting the instinct do the talking to know where to go.”