Great Britain enjoyed Winter World University Games success as Scott Johns, Thea Fenwick, and Team James Craick earned medals to ensure they returned from Lake Placid with their highest medal tally at these Games.
The British team picked up their medals in ski cross, curling, and freeski slopestyle.
The 2023 Games were momentous for Team GB in more ways than one. One of the largest delegations, Great Britain, have taken to these Games, as well as having the widest representation of different GB universities.
This edition of the Winter World University Games saw a massive step in the right direction with regards to inclusivity, as GB para-athletes competed for the first time.
Scott Johns, Manchester Metropolitan University, Gold- Ski Cross
Johns’ epic triumph saw him become the first ever athlete from Britain to win a Gold medal in ski cross, with the achievement made even more impressive by the fact he had sat a physiology test before hitting the slopes.
He finished ahead of two Germans, with Tim-Ole Mietz edging out his teammate Niklas Illig for the Silver medal.
The Manchester Met student is in the first year of his part-time Sport and Exercise Science degree, which he is studying remotely to allow him to train. According to his university, Austria and Canada are his next destinations.
The Winter World University Games champion first took to the slopes as an alpine ski racer when he was only six, before turning his focus to ski cross five years ago.
Men’s Curling team, Gold- Curling
Led by James Craick, a student at the University of Stirling, the British men’s curling team made no mistake against hosts Team USA as they earned their Gold medal with a dominant 5-1 victory in the final.
Victory here sees Craick, along with Angus Bryce, a student at the Open University, earn the impressive double of holding both the Winter World University Games and World Junior Championships titles.
They become only the third and fourth Scottish men to hold both titles simultaneously, after Bruce Mouat and Bobby Lammie, both of whom earned a Silver medal at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Team Craick only suffered one defeat on their way to Gold, and were aptly supported by Mark Watt (Open University), Alexander Haswell (University of Strathclyde), and Jack Carrick (Glasgow Caledonian University).
Thea Fenwick, Staffordshire University, Bronze- Freeski Slopestyle
It seems that Fenwick was always destined for success in skiing given she earned three medals at the British Championships when she was in Year 8.
The 21-year-old improved on her qualification position of fourth to add a bronze medal to the luggage of her return flight.
Hailing from Scarborough, she is working towards a degree a degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology as well as hoping to make it to World Cup level in the sport she has been doing since she was just two.
She found success at the World Winter University Games after her first opportunity to go for a medal was taken away as she was announced in the GB squad for the Lucerne 2021 Winter Universiade, which were cancelled due to Covid-19.
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