BBC announce pundit will leave Winter Olympics role with immediate effect
A BBC Sport pundit has left the broadcaster’s coverage of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics with immediate effect.
On Sunday (15 February), Team GB made history by winning two Winter Olympic gold medals in one day.
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale secured gold in the snowboard cross mixed team event before Matt Weston and Tabitha Stoecker also triumphed in the mixed skeleton event later in the day.
Meanwhile, Weston and Stoecker’s triumph meant Team GB had won three gold medals at a single Winter Olympics for the first time.
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Weston, who is now the most decorated British athlete in Winter Olympic history, also made personal history by becoming the first Brit to win two gold medals at the same Winter Games, having won gold in the men’s skeleton event on Friday (February 13).
Also on Sunday, BBC viewers waved goodbye to former skeleton gold medallist Lizzy Yarnold, who had been providing analysis of the Games for the broadcaster.
The 37-year-old was in the studio after Weston won individual gold on Friday and appeared visibly emotional.
“It’s a hugely emotional moment when you have that Olympic medal,” Yarnold, who won gold in 2014 and 2018, said.
“I’m finding it a Sliding Doors moment that I can’t believe we are here. I was so hoping for this moment...
“Every single one of the four runs was absolute perfection. Incredibly impressive from Matt Weston.
“What stands out for me is each and every time Matt Weston stood at the start block, he was looking down the track. He excelled, he accelerated, he was so focused.
“I really can’t find the words to describe how incredibly impressed I am with his performance.”
Yarnold has been praised by viewers for her detailed analysis of events at the Winter Games, but she will no longer be providing coverage.
During Sunday’s show, host Clare Balding said: “Lizzy, what a day for you to say farewell to Cortina, eh?”
“I know, it’s been a great time,” Yarnold responded with a broad smile.
Balding added: “Lizzy, thank you. Safe journey home, and I hope you enjoy watching the rest of the Games with your family.”
Yarnold retired from competition in 2018 after competing for a decade. Alongside winning gold at two Winter Olympic Games, the 37-year-old also won the 2015 World Championship, the European Championship and the 2013/14 World Cup.
Topics: Team GB
Luke Davies