Watch out for Woods, Rudman and Curling at Winter Olympics
Published:Ladbrokes are predicting a busy month of punting on the Winter Olympics with an estimated £1m expected to be staked across the games, so we’ve picked out the best of the Great British entries to back this February.
With as much as 200 hours of coverage set to be broadcast across the BBC, Eurosport and many more outlets besides, it’s never been easier to bet on the games, with popular markets including the overall medal table and in-play ice hockey.
But for those seeking an added excuse to back our own, here are four hot tips to follow over the course of the games in Russia.
A silver medal winner eight years ago in Turin, Rudman bounced back from the disappointment of finishing 6th in the 2010 Winter Games to claim gold at the World Championships in St Moritz last year.
That success was the latest chapter in the 32-year-old’s rise to glory, which has included two gold wins at the European Skeleton Championships as well as a gold medal in the 2011-12 Skeleton World Cup, and could culminate with a gold medal here.
The biggest threat to her standing tall on the podium could come from another British entry though, with Lizzy Yarnold the 8/5 favourite for victory after taking gold in the 2013-14 Skeleton World Cup. In this instance, however, we fancy experience over youth.
Team GB’s bright young hope, Woods has been impressing on the slopes for several years now, winning five British national championships in the slopestyle event between 2007 and 2011.
It’s been a steady progression for the 22-year-old, who claimed bronze at the Winter X Games Europe in Tignes in 2011 and another bronze at the Aspen Winter X Games last year. A silver medal at the 2013 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships further enhanced his reputation, which could be cemented in Sochi with Team GB’s first medal on snow in 90 years.
Second favourite behind 11/8 favourite and two-time X Games Gold Medal winner Nicholas Goepper, the Brit could yet triumph against a competitor also untested on the Olympic stage.
A memorable victory over then World Champions China at the 2010 Games showcased Team GB’s abilities but they failed to build on that win, finishing a disappointing seventh and missing out on a semi-final place.
However in Eve Muirhead – a 19-year-old member of the team four years ago – they have a world champion curler who is determined to emulate the success of summer Olympics heroes, including Jessica Ennis and co, by delivering victory here.
They may be a distant 11/2 to claim victory, with Sweden and Canada the current favourites, but if there is one team capable of upsetting the odds in Sochi, it’s this one.
Britain’s Men’s Curling team went into the last Winter Olympics as reigning world champions and despite a solid five wins from their eight matches, they missed out on the semi-finals after losing a single tie-breaker match against Sweden in the first extra end.
However, David Murdoch and his team will be hoping the previous Olympic disappointments will spur them on to success here, with the familiar duo of Canada and Sweden potentially standing between them and gold medal success.
Given their fine track record at the World Championships, it could pay off to back Team GB here.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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