Hopes of winning between three and seven medals at the
Winter Olympics fade due to a combination of bad luck and poor tech
![Team GB face prospect of returning empty-handed from Beijing Games](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/72aed32c2eaab1185bc8b06e077210410c942ba6/0_30_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdG8tZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=d65977ff8271a0cc5ca73c697b909003)
The ghosts of Albertville 92 are twitching. It is 30 years since Great
Britain returned from a Winter Games without a single medal and more than 20 since the money taps began to flood across Olympic sport. But suddenly a nation used to every Games bringing ever greater glories – and stories– is starting to notice an alien sensation: potential failure.
Team GB arrived in
Beijing confident they would win between three and seven medals. They still might. But as each gold-plated opportunity slips by – a loose curling stone here, a mistimed snowboard turn there – the sense of nervousness grows. Having talked a good game, they increasingly resemble a gambler on tilt, desperate for any kind of win.