This Side of the Pond

Britain has never been great at winter sports. When you lack much in the way of serviceable snow, it’s hard to pilot a luge in much of a hurry.

So it was no surprise to hear that we’d made it almost two weeks into the Olympics without a single Brit popping up on the winner’s podium. We have some excellent athletes, but they start with a disadvantage. The UK is many things, but a wonderland of snow-capped mountains and frozen ponds is not one of them.

Apparently, we set ourself a goal this year of between three and seven medals. Had we landed precisely in the middle of this modest target, we wo...