Great Britain at the 2010 Winter Olympics the women's skeleton. Williams became the first British gold medalist in an individual event at the Winter Olympics for thirty years, following Robin Cousins' victory in figure skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, and the first British female individual Winter Olympics gold medalist since Jeannette Altwegg in 1952. Shelley Rudman, Britain's only medalist at the 2006 Olympics, finished sixth in the women's event and her fiancé, Kristan Bromley, finished in the same position in the men's event. Cumulative time and standings given in brackets. Key: <nowiki>*</nowiki> New track records Four British snowboarders qualified for the Games.Ben Kilner
Speed skating race is held. According to the NRC Handelsblad journalist Jaap Bloembergen, the country "takes a carnival look" during international skating championships. At the 1914 Olympic Congress, the delegates agreed to include ice speed skating in the 1916 Olympics, after figure skating had featured in the 1908 Olympics. However, World War I put an end to the plans of Olympic competition, and it was not until the winter sports week in Chamonix in 1924—retroactively awarded Olympic status—that ice speed skating reached the Olympic programme. Charles Jewtraw from Lake Placid, New York, won the first Olympic gold medal, though several Norwegians in