Winter Olympics 2026: GB skeleton team appeal after helmets ruled unsafe

The British skeleton team – among Team GB’s best hopes for medals at the Winter Olympics – have been told their helmets do not meet safety standards only days out from the competition starting.

The British team have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for sport (Cas) after the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) said the helmets «did not comply with the IBSF skeleton rules based on its shape».

The British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association (BBSA) said the helmet was designed with safety in mind.

The team would currently not be able to wear the helmets in competition, but the Cas ruling will be heard on Thursday, with the result expected on Friday, before competition begins on 12 February.

The British skeleton team enjoyed a successful 2024-25 season, with Matt Weston winning overall World Cup gold and Marcus Wyatt silver, winning all seven races between them.

That success came using a different helmet, and the BBSA told BBC Sport the helmet it had hoped to use for the Games in Italy is a new design for the 2026-27 season, which begins towards the end of the year.

It said it has tried to be «innovative» with the new design, which it believes to «be in the current rules».

It said the new helmet has been designed to comply with new rules imposed by the IBSF for the 2026-27 season, which are aimed at improving safety, and that it is proven to be safer than any other helmets being used.

The rules set out the safety standards helmets must meet and have stipulations about the shape. For example, the helmet must not have any additionally attached aerodynamic elements.

The team wore the new helmets last week at a training session in Switzerland but have also brought the old helmets to Cortina.

At the 2010 Games the USA and Canada lodged a protest moments after British slider Amy Williams won the gold medal, alleging the small ridges on her helmet were illegal, but the protest was thrown out.

At the 2018 Games British medallists Lizzy Yarnold, Laura Deas and Dom Parsons wore specialised skin suits featuring drag-resistant ridges, the legality of which was also questioned by rival teams.

Weston is the heavy favourite for the gold medal in Cortina, with the men’s event beginning on 12 February and the women’s on 13 February.

Lizzy Yarnold, two-time British skeleton Olympic champion

There will always be a different kit which is being worked on – whether it’s the helmets, the sled, the suits itself – they will all go through a process of making sure that they abide by the rules and it’s the best kit possible for the athletes.

I think there’s always likely to be noise around equipment. The British team wore this helmet in Switzerland last week, so it’s not a hidden thing.

But the noise around it is almost very anticipated, because whenever you bring in new equipment it has to go through the process of being checked.

Whether there is an element of gamesmanship having a new helmet, I don’t think that is at play.

I don’t know whether the athletes will have a preference on which helmet they use but they know they are performing well and can still perform well with the old helmet.

They will be happy with all of the different versions of equipment, so their role is simply just focusing on the matter at hand.