As part of an ongoing research project with Team GB, University historians Dr Jenny Macleod and Dr Catherine Baker have applied their expertise in 20th century history to help create an athlete book for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
The book features past Team GB pioneers who have paved the way for others and have lived the ‘One Team GB’ values - a concept encompassing the cultures, ways of working and the collective beliefs of all team members.
The book will be received as a gift by all Team GB Winter Olympians on arrival in Beijing to connect them with Team GB’s history, values and the legacy they can leave behind like those who came before them.
Dr Catherine Baker, Reader in 20th Century History, said: “Researching Team GB's Winter Games 'ancestors' took us on a deep dive through the history of how winter sports became popularised in the UK - from the early days of figure skating to the ice hockey craze of the 1930s, ski culture in the 1980s and enthusiasm for snowboarding today.
“In researching these Olympians for Team GB, we have also connected them with the history of class, leisure and tourism over the past century and helped them reflect on why Black, Asian and working-class people have historically had less access to winter sports.”