As we digest another Ashes thrashing for England’s cricketers in Australia, and wonder whether the 1966 World Cup victory will forever be the solitary success for one of Britain’s national football teams, the triumphs of individual Brits continue to astound.
In the past year GB punched well above its weight in finishing fourth in the Olympic medals table with 22 golds, mostly in individual events. Teenager Emma Raducanu rocked the world with her out-of-nowhere win at the US Open tennis, though she is beginning to need a reset now. And then last weekend, even more extraordinarily still, came Dave ‘Rocket’ Ryding’s amazing made-in-Lancashire gold medal in the showpiece Kitzbühel World Cup slalom in Austria.
Ryding’s is an amazing triumph for someone from what is basically a snow-free country
It is hard to overstate what an achievement this was, and how much it should be celebrated. Ryding is the first British skier to win a gold in the 55-year-history of the Alpine World Cup, an amazing triumph for someone who comes from what is basically a snow-free country.
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