The slopes of Livigno, Italy, were alive with Olympic energy on February 22, 2026, as Zoe Atkin, a 23-year-old Park City resident representing Great Britain, soared to a historic bronze in the women’s freeski halfpipe at the Milano Cortina Winter Games. With this achievement, Atkin not only clinched her first Olympic medal but also helped propel Team GB to a record-equalling haul of five medals—three of them gold—making these Games the most successful Winter Olympics in British history.
Atkin’s journey to Olympic bronze was anything but ordinary. Born in the United States to a Malaysian mother and English father, she grew up in Massachusetts, inspired by her older sister Izzy, who herself won bronze in ski slopestyle at the 2018 Winter Olympics. “She’s always been my biggest inspiration, she pushed me into the sport, she was always bullying me to jump off things on the mountain,” Zoe told BBC Sport, reflecting on the sibling rivalry and support that shaped her career. “After watching her [win the medal] it’s always been a huge goal for me. It’s a real full-circle moment because she was here supporting me, and I was there when she won her bronze medal, so it’s really special.”
Coming into the Games, expectations for Zoe Atkin were sky-high. She was fresh off a world halfpipe title in Engadin, Switzerland, in 2025, and a superpipe gold at the Aspen X Games just a month before the Olympics. Her technical prowess and recent victories made her a favorite for the podium. The anticipation was only heightened when Atkin topped the qualification round, posting a standout score of 91.50 and confirming her status as a medal contender.
However, the final itself was packed with drama and Olympic spirit. Originally scheduled for Saturday, the event was postponed to Sunday morning due to heavy snowfall, giving athletes a night to recalibrate. Bright sun greeted the competitors as they prepared for the three-run final, where only the single best score would count. Atkin wasted no time, launching into her first run with a dazzling display of tricks—a 540 Mute grab, a 720 Indy to Tail grab, a switch 720 Japan grab, another 540 Indy to Tail, an Alley-Oop 360 Indy to Japan, and a switch 720 Indy to Tail. That routine earned her a 90.50, shooting her straight to the top of the standings and fueling British hopes for another medal.
But Olympic glory never comes easy. The defending champion, China’s Eileen Gu, stumbled on her opening trick, while Canada’s Amy Fraser briefly overtook Atkin with an 85.00. Still, Atkin’s first-run score held strong. “I was so stressed out today and so nervous,” Atkin admitted to BBC Sport. “So I kind of played a little bit safer on my first run just to put one down. And then, yeah, I set it up on that third run there. So I’m just super stoked.”
The second run brought heartbreak and high drama. Eileen Gu, determined to defend her crown, rebounded with a stunning 94.00, and China’s Li Fanghui delivered a 91.50. Atkin, now under pressure, suffered a mishap—her skis clipped the deck and detached, sending her tumbling and erasing any momentum she’d built. Despite the setback, she remained unhurt and focused on her final attempt.
As the third and last run approached, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. Gu and Li both improved their scores—Gu notching a 94.75 and Li hitting 93.00—leaving Atkin with one shot to leap back onto the podium. With the pressure mounting, Atkin delivered a near-flawless performance, boosting her score to 92.50. It was a mere half-point shy of the silver, but more than enough for bronze. “I’ve been working on my run for the past four years, even longer, and to be able to come back to the Olympics and be on the podium means so much to me,” Atkin told Sky News. “I am so happy. I’ve been looking forward to this for at least the past four years and it was so overwhelming with the crowd and knowing it was the Olympics—so many emotions.”
Her family’s presence in Livigno made the moment even sweeter. “It’s just so special to have all my family out here and they’re all waving the British flag. They’re so stoked. A lot of my family came from England and just it means so much to them to wave the flag. It means so much to me to come down and see them so stoked. And it just it means so much. I mean, it’s all about that support in that community. And I definitely could not do it alone,” Atkin said after her final run.
Atkin’s medal was more than a personal triumph—it was a historic moment for British skiing. She became only the second British athlete to win an Olympic medal on skis, after her sister Izzy. Her bronze marked Team GB’s fifth medal of the Games, matching the nation’s best-ever haul from 2014 and 2018, but with the added distinction of three golds, making the 2026 Games officially Britain’s most successful Winter Olympics.
The British team’s achievements in Milan-Cortina have electrified fans back home. Earlier in the Games, Team GB made history with two gold medals on a single day—Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale in mixed team snowboarding, and Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker in mixed team skeleton. Weston also took gold in the men’s singles skeleton, while the men’s curling team, led by Bruce Mouat, earned silver after a tense final against Canada. “It’s absolutely been an historic games for Team GB. It’s incredible to come away with so many Olympic champions to that point,” said Dr. Kate Baker, director of performance at UK Sport, in an interview with Sky News.
For Zoe Atkin, the Olympic bronze is the culmination of years of hard work, family support, and academic dedication. Currently a student at Stanford University studying symbolic systems—a blend of cognitive science and computer science—Atkin credits her studies with helping her manage fear and pressure in high-stakes competition. “I’ve struggled with fear a lot in the past, especially when I was younger. Learning about the mechanisms of the brain has really helped me apply those learnings and new mindsets and be able to test those theories, in practice, in my sport,” she explained to BBC Sport.
As the Olympic flame dimmed over Verona at the closing ceremony, Zoe Atkin’s bronze shone brightly as a symbol of perseverance, family legacy, and British sporting achievement. With her sister Izzy cheering from the sidelines and her family waving the Union Jack, Atkin’s journey came full circle, inspiring a new generation of British skiers to dream big and aim high. The Atkin sisters’ story—of sibling rivalry, shared triumphs, and Olympic glory—will no doubt be remembered as one of the defining narratives of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.