Team GB’s Matt Weston leads the skeleton standings after two rounds at the Winter Olympics

Matt Weston has confirmed his status as the world’s best skeleton pilot by setting a record on his way to taking the lead at the halfway point in the Winter Olympics.

The two-time world champion – Team GB’s biggest hope for a medal in Milano-Cortina – made a second statement to open up a 0.30 second advantage over the field, with two medal-deciding rounds coming up on Friday.

Weston was the only skater under 56 seconds as he clocked 55.88 seconds in the second run, adding to his 56.21 seconds in the first run on the new Cortina sliding track.

After a frustrating opening lap, which began with a costly crash into the wall near the top of the track, Weston was clearly upset with his performance.

But, under pressure from two German skaters, he was able to correct those mistakes with a brilliant and very impressive second run, shaving 0.33 seconds off his opening attempt, to give him an overall time of 1 minute 52.09 seconds.

“I was pretty upset after the first round,” Weston said. “I tried to be a little bit more relaxed because I tried to overcompensate for the race day nerves.”

“He’s so crazy [to be the overnight leader] But I consider each round as one round. “I’m going to completely reset myself and take a little break from work and then come back to focus on Friday.”

Since skeleton medals are often determined by hundredths of a second, Weston’s fist pumps at the end of his second round were not only a sign of his elation for a cleaner round, but also signaled the significance of his advantage.

His compatriot Marcus White ranks seventh with an overall time of 1:53.21 – 0.66 seconds outside the medal positions.

White, 34, was also a strong medal contender at the Games but struggled on the technical Cortina track and a podium finish already looks like a tough task.

Axel Jungk, a silver medalist in Beijing four years ago, came in second with a time of 1:52.39 while fellow German and defending Olympic champion Christopher Grotheer was third with a time of 1:52.55.

The final heats will be shown live on the BBC from 18:30 GMT on Friday with the four running times added together to give the overall score.