Matt Weston: Skeleton pilot wins Olympic gold confirmed for GB’s first Games medal

Matt Weston cemented his place as the world’s best skeleton racer as he made history by winning Olympic gold in emphatic fashion in Cortina, securing Team Great Britain’s first medal at the 2026 Winter Games.

Weston scored on all four of his runs to become the first British man to win winter gold since Christopher Dean took to the ice dancing stage alongside Jayne Torvill in 1984, and the first British man to win Olympic gold in skeleton.

The 28-year-old could have taken it easy on his final lap having already built up a huge margin of 0.39 seconds, but he upped things in what was ultimately a 55.61 second victory lap, finishing the race in an impressive overall time of 3:43.33.

Weston had been the epitome of focus throughout the Games, but emotion finally got the better of him as he crossed the finish line and buried his face in the ice before directing his double-fist celebration towards his friends and family.

He laid the foundations for victory on Thursday, rebounding from an early mistake in the first round and holding off a complete second round to gain an overnight advantage of 0.30 seconds heading into the crucial medal heats.

The Briton was close to perfection on Friday and clocked 55.63 seconds in the third round, prompting early celebrations from the two-time world champion along with many fans who milled around the track wrapped in Union flags.

It left an almost impossible task to the chasing group and Axel Jungk eventually finished 0.88 seconds behind to take the silver while compatriot and Olympic champion from Beijing Christopher Grotheer took bronze, 1.07 seconds off first place.

His British compatriot Marcus White, who was also a candidate to compete for a medal after winning two World Cup races this season, struggled on the technical Cortina circuit and finished the race in ninth place with a time of 3:45.77 overall.

Redhill-born Weston can still add more silverware to his collection when he takes part in Amelia Coltman’s mixed team event, the newly introduced Milan-Cortina, on Sunday.

White and Tabitha Stoecker, who missed out on the podium at the halfway point in the women’s event earlier Friday, will also compete in the event in which they won the all-around gold medal at this year’s World Cup.

It has taken a week of work for Team GB to put a first medal on the board after what was expected to be the most successful Games ever, but instead saw a series of near misses for many podium hopefuls.