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
Ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics the USSR had invaded Afghanistan, and there was speculation that the Soviet Union might not be allowed to compete in these Olympics. The Soviet Union did compete in the Lake Placid games, but the United States and 65 other nations boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow later that year. The Soviets, who had won every Winter Olympics ice hockey tournament since the United States took gold at the 1960 Olympics, were well-seasoned "amateurs" who were employed by industrial firms or military organizations for the sole purpose of playing hockey on their organization's team. Many players on the Soviet team