OLYMPICS: Snowboard-Britain wins mixed team cross gold

LIVIGNO, Italy – Britain’s Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale captured gold in the mixed team snowboard cross at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, bouncing back from disappointing finishes in their individual events.

Under clear blue skies in the alpine resort of Livigno, Italy’s Michela Moioli and Lorenzo Sommariva took silver, while France’s Lea Casta and Loan Bozzolo earned bronze.

Bankes had finished 13th in the women’s snowboard cross final on Friday, while Nightingale placed 26th in the men’s event the day before. On Sunday, the pair were all smiles, pumping their fists in celebration atop the podium and closing their eyes as the national anthem played.

“It feels unbelievable to be wearing an Olympic gold medal,” said Nightingale, 24. “It’s hard to describe in words. We both put in so much hard work. It just feels amazing.”

Bankes, 30, added that her coach encouraged her to enjoy the race after her earlier loss. “I had to pick myself back up and do it for the team as well,” she said.

The medallists shared hugs and even took selfies, with France’s Bozzolo pulling out his phone to capture the moment. “I have a medal now, and I’ll try to win more at the next Olympics in France. It will be a new motivation for my career,” said the 26-year-old Frenchman.

Britain trailed after the first leg of the final, run by Nightingale, but Bankes secured the gold in the second run by overtaking Casta. Italy’s Moioli, who previously won silver in the mixed team event at the last Olympics, also outran Casta to claim the runners-up position.

“It was a really good race, and now it’s time to celebrate. We both deserved it,” said Moioli, 30, standing alongside Sommariva. She had also won bronze in the individual women’s snowboard cross final last week, marking her second Milano Cortina medal.

There was disappointment for the U.S., the 2022 mixed team gold medallists, as Nick Baumgartner and Faye Thelen, both competing in their fifth Olympics, were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Australia’s Josie Baff, gold medallist in the women’s individual final, also missed the podium after partner Adam Lambert fell in the first leg of the final, leaving them in fourth place. -Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Ken Ferris, Hugh Lawson and Christian Radnedge/Reuters