Barnstorming British Skeleton 1-2 in Sigulda secures overall IBSF World Cup medals for Bath-based Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt
The University of Bath-based British Skeleton squad finished an outstanding IBSF World Cup season on a suitably high note by winning gold and silver in the men’s race at Sigulda, Latvia.
World and European Champion Matt Weston stormed to his fifth gold medal in as many races during 2023 as he finished 0.36secs ahead of team-mate Marcus Wyatt.
Craig Thompson went mighty close to completing a British clean sweep of the medals as he sat third after the first run before Olympic Champion Christopher Grotheer pipped him to bronze by just six-hundredths of a second.
Friday’s results in the last race of the year mean that Weston finished runner-up to Grotheer in the overall World Cup rankings and Wyatt took third place, earning them GB’s first men’s overall medals since Kristan Bromley topped the ranking 15 years ago.
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It was also a seventh medal of the 2022-23 season for Weston, matching double Olympic Champion Lizzy Yarnold for the most medals in a single campaign.
There was more success in the women’s race as Laura Deas produced the fastest second run to move up two places and take silver behind Germany’s Tina Hermann. Brogan Crowley, who was in third place after the first run, placed eighth.
The podium placings continued on the Intercontinental Cup in Innsbruck where Amelia Coltman won silver, her fourth medal on the circuit this season. The Europa Cup action on the same track saw Tabby Stoecker win back-to-back gold medals and Freya Tarbit grab silver and bronze. Larry Bostock won gold in the men’s race and Jacob Salisbury joined him on the podium in third place.
Issy Fassnidge also won bronze at the Junior European Championships U20 in only the second race of her sliding career.
The British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association is based at the University of Bath, home to the UK’s only outdoor push-start track. Skeleton athletes also train in the high-performance gym and on the indoor sprint track at the Team Bath Sports Training Village.
Click here to find out more about skeleton at the University of Bath.
