Winter Olympics 2026: Why Team GB is so good at skeleton

So, what do British athletes explain? The answer is each other, their team friendship.

Marcus White – who finished ninth in Cortina – told BBC Sport last year: “We slide on an ice track only about 120 to 150 times a year. Each run takes less than a minute, so you’re looking at less than two hours doing this sport every year.”

“But if you talk to other athletes, learn from their experiences and share what you do, suddenly your knowledge triples and quadruples.

“In the last couple of years especially, Matt and I have been at each other’s throats, sharing ideas.

“The day before the race, I might struggle at the turn, so I asked Matt, ‘What are you doing at Turn 4?’ He said, ‘I try it, it suits me,’ and when the race comes, I might beat it.

“That’s good, because he knows that next week when he’s struggling somewhere else, I’ll help him and he might beat me.

“It’s team spirit, working together to get the best out of everyone.”

“I think that’s why we’re so good,” Weston adds.

“On the track, he’s the first person I want to beat, and I’m the first person I want to beat.

“But when we train, when we practice things, we work well together, and I think that’s what sets us apart.” [from the rest]”.