Matt Weston delivered Britain’s first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics in style as he dominated the men’s skeleton competition.
The British star claimed victory by a cumulative total of 0.88 seconds over his four runs, ahead of German pair Alex Jungk and Christopher Grotheer, who took silver and bronze respectively.
The dual world champion had led from the beginning of the competition, setting track records in both of his first two runs at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Thursday before bettering his own mark twice again on Friday evening to be crowned Olympic champion.
He said: “I literally can’t describe it. 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. It’s kind of not real. I keep touching it (his medal) to make sure it is real but it doesn’t feel real.”
Despite having held a clear advantage from his very first run, Weston still felt there were parts of his performance that could be improved as he continues to seek “the perfect line” around the track.
He said: “I think there’s always bits to clean up. I’m very much a perfectionist.
“Every single run I do I’m thinking I need to clean this set, I need to clean that up. Even if it was a track record, I’m still very much trying to find that perfect line.
“Whether it’s possible or not I don’t know but that’s what keeps me going.”
Weston is unsure where his perfectionist streak comes from, but admits it stretches further than just the sliding track.
He added: “I want to win everything, I want to be a perfectionist in everything. I’m a nightmare when we play Monopoly at home.
“My team-mates call me Captain 110 per cent because I can’t not win. Even when we’re squatting, they might put one kilo on the bar and I’ll be like, I’ll do another set just to try and beat them.”
Weston is the first British man to win a skeleton gold, with Amy Williams and Lizzy Yarnold having triumphed previously in the women’s competition and he was thrilled to have followed in their footsteps.
He said: “I’m just so pleased that I’m able to continue such an amazing legacy. We’ve had some insane athletes come before me and set the standard, set the momentum.
“Obviously Beijing (in 2022) didn’t go quite as well as we’d hoped. We took a risk with equipment then and it didn’t quite pay off.
“But now we completely reset, we revamped everything, new coaches, new kind of philosophies around things and yeah, I think we’ve turned it around pretty well.”
Weston’s parents, Alison and Tom, along with his fiancee Alex were there to witness his triumph and he added: “They’re the ones that are pushing me the most.
“My fiancee, I’m out of the country for six months of the year and it’s not a glamorous lifestyle being a skeleton athlete but she’s still always there supporting me.
“I’m getting married in July so I can say yes (it is the best day of my life) for about a few months and then I have to change my answer.”
