Great Britain women begin Olympic qualifying with Latvia win

Great Britain’s women opened their 2026 Winter Olympic qualifying campaign with a 3-2 victory against Latvia in Sheffield.

Jodie Alderson Smith, Katie Henry and Katherine Gale scored to cancel out efforts from Liga Miljone and Krista Yip-Chuck.

Great Britain’s women’s team are looking to qualify for the Winter Games for the first time.

The 2026 edition will be hosted in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy.

Captain Smith opened the scoring but Milijone quickly hit back to level for the visitors.

Henry restored GB’s advantage and Gale, who celebrated winning her 50th cap, further enhanced their lead to ensure that Yip-Chuck’s strike would not prove costly.

GB women return to action for their second qualifier against Spain on Saturday (16:00 GMT) before rounding off this international window on Sunday against the Netherlands (16:00 GMT).