Matt Weston makes history with a glorious skeleton gold in Cortina
Matt Weston has written his name into the history books once again after becoming the first British male skeleton athlete to win Olympic gold.
Weston set two new track records on the first day of competition and carried that magnificent form into the decisive third and fourth runs, his combined time of 3:43.33 putting him nearly a second clear of silver-medallist Axel Jungk of Germany.
Success at the Cortina Sliding Centre means Weston is now the holder of all the sport’s major titles, adding to his World, European and Overall World Cup titles.
It also capped a season of total dominance for the British slider, who won gold in six of his eight international races and was runner-up in the other two.
“I literally can’t describe it,” said Weston. “I’ve been fortunate enough to win World Championships, European Championships and other things as well, and this blows them all out of the water. I can’t describe the feeling, I almost feel numb.”
Team-mate Marcus Wyatt – the only other man to win an international skeleton race this season – secured a top-10 finish, producing his best time in the fourth run to place ninth overall in 3:45.77.
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Weston emulates fellow Brits Amy Williams (2010) and Lizzy Yarnold (2014 and 2018) by topping the podium and is only the fourth British man to win an Olympic skeleton medal, following David Carnegie, John Crammond and Dom Parsons who won bronze in 1928, 1948 and 2018 respectively.
There is more potential skeleton silverware over the weekend, with Tabby Stoecker, Freya Tarbit and Amelia Coltman sitting fifth, sixth and ninth respectively going into Saturday’s decisive races in the women’s skeleton.
Both Weston and Wyatt will also be back in action on Sunday when they contest the first-ever Olympic mixed team race with the two highest-placed female GB athletes.
The British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association (BBSA) is running a Talent ID scheme to find the next generation of British sliders. Find out more at www.thebbsa.co.uk/join-the-team-live-the-dream.
Photo credit: Zsombor Czoma / Team GB
