Great Britain's Winter Olympics Hall of Fame - Top Five

WHO are the greatest British Winter Olympians of all time? Here's the case for a cast that includes a plasterer from Gloucester and an office clerk and copper from Nottingham, plus a Lord and an Earl.

PERFECT UNION: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean stopped the nation as 24 million watched them win ice dance gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajavo (Getty Images)

1. JAYNE TORVILL AND CHRISTOPHER DEAN, SARAJEVO 1984

Christopher Dean, a policeman from Nottingham, started his ice dance career with Sandra Elson, winning the British title in 1974.

Jayne Torvill, an office clerk from the same town, was dancing with British champion Michael Hutchison - but by 1975 they came together to form the most famous double act in British sporting history.

Within three years they were British champions but they finished a disappointing 11th at the 1978 World Championships in Canada.

But Ottawa marked a turning point for their careers, thanks to a meeting with inspirational coach Betty Calloway.

She became a vital factor in their success - and by the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, Torvill and Dean announced their credentials with a fifth place finish in the ice dance.

One year later they were European and world champions, defending that title in 1982 as they started to dominate their discipline.

Another world title followed in 1983 - West End actor Michael Crawford working with the duo and Calloway as they recreated his stage show Barnum with a groundbreaking routine that earned a world record 12 perfect ‘sixes'.

But it's the 1984 Sarajevo Games - and their routine to Ravel's Bolero - for which they'll forever be remembered.

More than 24 million television viewers tuned in, as the nation stopped to watch.

Torvill and Dean turned professional after adding a fourth world title to their resume, taking a hugely popular ice show on the road.

They returned to the Olympics after rules regarding professionals were relaxed I 1994 - taking bronze with another ground-breaking routine that was marked down by some judges for its innovative nature.

2. GREAT BRITAIN WOMEN'S CURLING TEAM, SALT LAKE CITY 2002

Rhona Martin was renowned for her ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Scottish national championships - but all that changed in Salt Lake.

After a fourth place finish at the 2000 World Championship, Martin earned the right to skip her team at the Olympics two years later.

Martin fell ill on the plane and nearly didn't start Britain's opener but recovered to help her team win five of their first seven matches.

However, defeats to the USA - when Britain held a commanding lead - and Germany left Britain hoping Switzerland defeated Germany to reach the semi-final play-offs.

Wins over world champions Sweden and Germany booked Martin - and team-mates Debbie Knox, Fiona MacDonald and Janice Rankin - a final four place and a date with Canada, skipped by Kelley Law.

Britain duly gained revenge for the defeat at the World Championships to guarantee a medal and set-up a final date against Switzerland, when Martin delivered the final stone to secure Britain's first Olympic Winter Games gold since Torvill and Dean's ice dancing triumph in Sarajevo.

The match, which concluded in the early hours of the morning, was watched by over one million television viewers in the UK.

3. JOHN CURRY, INNSBRUCK 1976

John Curry took up skating aged 12 and under the guidance of Ken Vickers in Birmingham and later leading London-based coaches Arnold Gerschwiler and Alison Smith rose to threaten the top ten in the world rankings.

After he finished 11th at the 1972 Olympics, Curry's potential was spotted by American millionaire and skating enthusiast Ed Moseler, who helped Curry move to Denver, where he received tuition from the renowned Carlo Fassi.

The work soon reaped dividends and he arrived at Innsbruck as a double European champion.

His graceful, athletic and perfectly executed programme ensured gold - and Curry added the world title in Gothenburg later in the year.

4. ROBIN DIXON AND TONY NASH, INNSBRUCK 1964

Robin Dixon, later Lord Glentoran, and engineering director Tony Nash arrived in Innsbruck among the favourites for the two-man bobsleigh event, following their third place at the previous years FIBT World Championships in Igls, Austria.

After the first run the pair, coached by Tony Brooks, were second behind Canada.

They moved into second after the second run but a disappointing third run seemed to have given the gold medal to the fast-improving Italians.

However, driver Nash produced a brilliant final run, snatching gold by just 12/100ths of a second.

One year later they added the world title but finished a disappointing fifth at the 1968 Olympics.

5. ROBIN COUSINS, LAKE PLACID 1980

Robin Cousins's father found sporting fame with the hardest of English football teams - playing as a goalkeeper with Millwall at their notorious Den ground.

But he excelled in the more graceful sport of ice skating, finishing tenth when John Curry took men's icegold in Innsbruck.

Within two years found himself among the medals at the World Championships and he edged East German favourite Jan Hoffman to win gold at Lake Placid.

Do you agree with our views? Feel free to make your case for anyone omitted on our rankings.

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JAMES TONEY