How Matt Weston 'perfected himself' to claim men's skeleton gold at Milano Cortina after threatening to quit following Beijing Olympics blow
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By Ben Grounds
Updated 14/02/2026 at 18:17 GMT
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Matt Weston produced a near-perfect display to claim men's skeleton gold in emphatic style by setting four consecutive track records at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Amy Williams, who won women's skeleton gold in 2010, explained to TNT Sports how Weston fought back from the disappointment of finishing 15th at the 2022 Beijing Olympics to rise to the pinnacle of his profession.
Watch: Weston delivers EPIC gold for Team GB
Video credit: TNT Sports
Matt Weston "perfected himself" in becoming Team GB's first individual male champion at the Winter Olympics since Robin Cousins in 1980, according to fellow skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams.
Not since Christopher Dean in 1984 has any British man claimed gold, but Weston ended that long wait in scintillating fashion at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Germany's Axel Jungk took silver for the second successive Games, 0.88 seconds adrift, while compatriot and defending champion Christopher Grotheer got the bronze. In truth though, there was only ever one man in it.
And Weston felt he might have performed better in his final heat, describing himself as a "perfectionist", but it was more than enough to finish top of the pile - indeed, by the second-biggest margin in Olympic skeleton history. Not bad for someone who considered quitting the sport four years earlier.
Williams, who won gold in 2010, told TNT Sports: "It's just incredible, he's done it... he's gone and got gold. It just means so much. You can see it on his face. It means so much to all of us.
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Emotions high as Weston receives gold medal
Video credit: TNT Sports
"He got better and better with every single run, setting four track records. He perfected himself and his own performance every single time he got down on that sled.
"It was incredible to watch, just to be able to witness that and the history that he's done, it's not going to hit him."
But after the scale of his achievement dawned on the 28-year-old, Weston embraced his parents and his fiancee, Alex Howard-Jones, who he is set to marry in July.
"I don't have any words," Howard-Jones told the BBC. "I told you that he'd get gold and he did. I couldn't be prouder of him."
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TEARS in the studio as Weston makes history - 'It means so much'
Video credit: TNT Sports
His father, Tom Weston, added: "He's definitely that good. I knew he'd be very close, at least second. I'm absolutely proud of him."
For the first time at these Games, there was the raising of the Union Jack flag and the sound of God Save the King.
Weston’s victory followed several days of agonising near-misses for Team GB.
- Olympic recap: How Weston powered to skeleton gold for Team GB with record final run
- 'A feeling unlike anything else' - GB's Weston in a 'blur' after 'amazing' gold
- Klaebo wins record-equalling eighth gold with stunning 10km
Freestyle skier Kirsty Muir, snowboarder Mia Brookes and curlers Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds had all endured the frustration of fourth-place finishes before ice dancers Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson also saw a medal opportunity slip away.
Weston, however, ensured there would be no repeat of that heartbreak. In sealing gold, he became just the 13th British athlete to win a Winter Olympic title. Team-mate Marcus Wyatt finished ninth.
How Weston fought back from Beijing blow
Weston only switched to skeleton in 2017, having previously played rugby and taken up taekwondo to a high level. He will now be a role model to future young athletes hoping to one day emulate him for his country.
At the 2022 Beijing Games, Great Britain failed to live up to expectations. In truth, it was a bit of a disaster. Weston's maiden Olympics came just months after he won a first skeleton World Cup gold, but he fell short despite being viewed as a genuine medal contender.
British sliders - including two-time Olympic champion Lizzy Yarnold - had claimed a medal at every Winter Games since skeleton was reintroduced to the Olympic programme in 2002.
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'Goosebumps' as Weston sends fans 'mad' with another track record
Video credit: TNT Sports
But two decades later, that remarkable streak came to an abrupt and sobering halt, with Weston’s 15th-place finish the best result among the four British competitors on the Yanqing track.
"The men were all very disappointed four years ago in Beijing," Williams explained. "That's understandable because their performances before had been a little better. But in four years, with every single winter season, you are doing more and more runs on every single track in the world.
"With every single run that you do, you learn something. As we've seen, you can perfect your steers, you can perfect your equipment and the way that you work with your sled, and then comes the confidence within your own ability.
"I think being able to trust your ability and put that trust in you and your sled to work together on a track is key.
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Record-breaking Weston second heat unpacked - 'Cool, calm, composed'
Video credit: TNT Sports
"Once you've got that and you've clicked, you have a relationship with your sled and with your coaches.
"We've got one of the greatest sliders of all time from Latvia as one of our main coaches, along with Matthias Guggenberger, who was at the top of the track.
"The two of them work incredibly well. Look at the relationship that they have. The trust that you have in your coach to help you with those lines is everything. All of that is a package that builds up week after week on the ice, month after month, year after year, coming from that improvement in a four-year Olympic cycle."
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Weston struggling to process Olympic gold after 'heartbreak' of Beijing
Video credit: TNT Sports
Great Britain's 13 Winter Olympics gold medals
- 1924: Men's curling
- 1936: Men's ice hockey
- 1952: Jeannette Altwegg - figure skating
- 1964: Tony Nash & Robin Dixon - men's bobsleigh
- 1976: John Curry - figure skating
- 1980: Robin Cousins - figure skating
- 1984: Torvill and Dean - figure skating
- 2002: Women's curling
- 2010: Amy Williams - skeleton
- 2014: Lizzy Yarnold - skeleton
- 2018: Lizzy Yarnold - skeleton
- 2022: Women's curling
- 2026: Matt Weston - skeleton
How to watch the 2026 Olympic Winter Games
TNT Sports and discovery+ will be the go-to destination in the UK to watch all of Milano Cortina 2026 live, with more than 850 hours of action from every sport, venue and medal event.
Coverage will be made available to the widest audience ever, with discovery+ customers across all plans - starting at £3.99/month in the UK and €4.99/month in Ireland - able to access comprehensive live coverage with 24/7 coverage available through TNT Sports 2 and a selection of live event feeds.
TNT Sports 2 will serve as the primary Olympic destination, offering more than 200 hours of live event coverage, studio programming, replays and highlights, delivering round-the-clock storytelling from Milano Cortina across all 17 days of competition.
WBD’s coverage of the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 began on Wednesday, February 4 ahead of the Opening Ceremony at the iconic San Siro stadium that took place on Friday 6 February and runs until the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, February 22.
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
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