Matt Weston wrote his name in the British Olympic record books as he teamed up with Tabby Stoecker to win a second gold medal at the Milan and Cortina games in the mixed team skeleton competition.
Weston had already claimed top spot in the men’s competition on Friday evening with a dominant performance and he showed why he is the best in world as he turned around a 0.3second deficit after Stoecker’s run to deliver victory by 0.17s.
That gold means he is the first British athlete to win two medals at the same Winter Olympics and joins dual women’s skeleton champion Lizzy Yarnold as the nation’s most successful athlete at the Winter Games.
He said: “There’s some great names in the British Winter Olympian history. I think to even consider putting my name next to those is a massive honour.
“I don’t want to be the one to say what position I am in there, but to have my name next to those is absolutely amazing. A lot of those guys have been a massive inspiration, especially within the sliding sports as well.”
Weston was unaware of the ground he had to make up on eventual silver medallists Susanne Kreher and Axel Jungk, instead focusing on his own start.
He explained: “When I’m at the top of the track I kind of put my helmet just low enough that I can’t see what the splits are. All I was doing was listening to my coach telling me the timings and all I could think was don’t false start.
“I was just staying very calm and trying to be collected, just tick the boxes, get the job done and hopefully that would have been enough and it turns out it was.”
Stoecker had finished fifth in the women’s competition on Saturday evening and had plenty of faith in Weston’s ability to find the time.
She said: “What an honour – it’s incredible. The medal is really heavy, it’s gold and I get to share it with Matt. It’s more than I could have ever hoped for.
“I think I crossed the line and then all I was really focused on was getting to the TV screen to watch Matt come down.
“He’s the individual Olympic champion and his standard of sliding is insane. So I had a lot of faith that he was going to lay down another exceptional run.
“But also it’s always nerve wracking when you have to watch the clock and the splits and you’re not sure how it’s going to go. But the flow that he has on the sled, it’s just unmatched, so from about halfway down I could feel that the gold was coming.”
Stoecker’s boyfriend Pat Atkin, who will be best man at Weston’s wedding in the summer, was among those waiting to celebrate at the Cortina Sliding Centre finish.
She added: “My boyfriend is there, but all my friends and family who have come out to watch, that’s just made it so special.
“I got to put my gold medal on my niece and nephew, they were saying how heavy it was and that’s just a moment that is going to last forever.
“All our families are really close and I consider Matt one of my best friends.”
Weston and Stoecker were winning the second gold of the day for Britain, following Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale in the mixed team snowboard cross, to make it a landmark occasion for Team GB.
“It’s pretty special to be a part of that to be honest,” said Weston.
“I’m extremely proud of what I’ve been able to achieve in the past couple of days. Especially to win the first ever team event is absolutely amazing. To win it with such a great team mate is just the icing on the cake.
“I’m buzzing and I don’t know what’s next to be honest – probably the pub!”
