Ten British contenders and when to watch them

Great Britain's current best tally is four, won in Chamonix, France, at the inaugural Winter Olympics in 1924.

Here, BBC Sport profiles 10 British contenders pushing for a podium finish in 2014:

Elise Christie - Short track speed skating

Career highlights
In March 2013, the 5ft 3in skater became the first British woman to win a World Championship medal in short track when she took 1000m bronze in Hungary. That came a month after she clinched the 1,000m World Cup title. Christie is also the reigning European champion over 1,000m and 1,500m.

When to watch*
Tune in to BBC Two from 18:00 on Friday 21 February to see how she gets on in her favoured 1,000m event.

John Jackson – Bobsleigh

Career highlights
Jackson, lead pilot for the two-man and four-man bobsleigh, led the latter to a fifth-place finish at the 2013 World Championships, ending just 0.07 seconds adrift of a medal. His four-man crew also secured the first World Cup medal by a British men's team since 1997 when they claimed silver at Lake Placid in December 2013.

When to watch*
Tune in to BBC Two from 11:00 on Sunday 23 February to see how Jackson and his crew perform in the four-man bobsleigh. 

Jenny Jones – Snowboarding

Career highlights
The Bristol snowboarder will make her Olympic debut in Sochi but has been a British trailblazer for over a decade. Jones is a three-time X Games slopestyle gold medallist (one European title, two global). She finished sixth at last year's World Championships and began the current Olympic season with her first World Cup podium - silver in New Zealand. Lesley McKenna, Great Britain's park and pipe programme manager, says of Jones: "It's not easy to get to the top and stay for one year. To do it for over 10 years is fantastic."

When to watch*
Jenny will be competing in the Women’s Slopestyle, with the Final, live on BBC Two, 09:15, Sunday 9 February.

Billy Morgan – Snowboarding

Career highlights
Slopestyle snowboarder Morgan finished fourth at the 2013 World Championships and won bronze at the World Cup meeting in Sierra Nevada to end last season second in the world rankings.  In December 2011, he became the first snowboarder ever to land a triple backside rodeo - essentially three flips in mid-air.

When to watch*
Billy will be competing in the Men’s Slopestyle, with the Final live on BBC Two from 08:45, Saturday 8 February.

Eve Muirhead – Curling

Career highlights
Muirhead led the British women's curling team aged just 19 in Vancouver 2010, having won the three previous world junior titles. She goes into the Sochi Winter Olympics as the reigning senior world champion, having won gold in Riga in March, a year after considering her future in the sport when her funding was halved. Muirhead also won European Championship gold in 2011 and she and her team were the first British athletes selected for Sochi.

When to watch*
The women’s curling medals will be decided on Thursday 20 February. The bronze medal from 08:30 and the gold medal match at 13:30 on BBC Two. 

David Murdoch – Curling

Career highlights
Murdoch has won two world and three European titles, but is yet to earn an Olympic medal. He was the reigning world champion heading into Vancouver in 2010, and will arrive at his third Winter Games in Sochi having won global bronze in 2013.

When to watch*
The men’s curling medals will be decided on Friday 21 February with the bronze medal at 08:30 on BBC Two and the gold at 13:30.

Shelley Rudman – Skeleton

Career highlights
Her silver at the 2006 Winter Olympics was Great Britain's only medal of the Games. Rudman earned the World Cup title in the 2011-12 season and goes to Sochi as the reigning world champion after becoming the first British female winner in St Moritz in 2013. She is also a two-time European champion and carried the Great Britain flag at the 2010 Opening Ceremony.

When to watch*
Shelley will compete in the Women’s Skeleton Bob, live on BBC Two, Friday 14 February at 17:10.

Katie Summerhayes – Freestyle Skiing

Career highlights
Summerhayes began the 2012-13 season recovering from a career-threatening knee injury but ended it as a realistic Sochi slopestyle contender after finishing fourth at both the World Championships and the Euro Winter X Games. The Sheffield athlete also won British female skiing's first World Cup medal in 19 years with silver in Switzerland in February - her first event back after injury.

When to watch*
Tune into BBC Two to see how Katie gets on in the Freestyle Skiing – Slopestyle, 09:45, Tuesday 11 February.

James Woods – Freestyle Skiing

Career highlights
In 2013, Woods became Britain's first freestyle skiing World Championship medallist for 20 years when he won slopestyle silver in Norway (Richard Cobbing won aerials silver in 1993). He also cantered to the overall World Cup slopestyle title last season and took Winter X Games bronze.

When to watch*
James will be in the Freestyle Skiing – Slopestyle event,  Thursday 13 February, 09:30, live on BBC Two. 

Lizzy Yarnold – Skeleton

Career highlights
The 2012 world junior champion won bronze in the senior event the following month, and was fourth in 2013. She also finished fourth overall in the 2012-13 World Cup in her first full season at senior level. Yarnold competed in all nine World Cup races, finishing outside the top 10 just once. This current season, Lizzie has gone up a level - she’s currently ranked number one in the world having won three golds, a silver and a bronze in the five World Cup events so far.

When to watch*
Lizzie’s women’s Skeleton event takes place on Friday 14 February, 17:10 on BBC Two.

*schedules may vary, please check listings for details.