Great Britain has set an ambitious target of five medals at next month’s Winter Olympics, with the recently announced sliding team expected to be a significant contributor to that record haul.
Leading the charge in men’s skeleton is double world champion and triple World Cup winner Matt Weston, who enters the Cortina Games as a strong favourite.
He will be joined by his regular roommate Marcus Wyatt, who secured third place in this year’s World Cup and is also considered a strong contender for a podium finish.
Reflecting on his impressive form, Weston, who overcame a severe thigh injury to dominate the circuit, stated: “I couldn’t really have wished for too much of a better season going into the Olympics. I’m obviously picking up on the things I need to improve because I’m a perfectionist, but I’m pleased with how the year has gone for me personally and for us as a team.
“We missed out on having fans on the ground for Beijing so there’s an added sense of excitement this time around and I’m really excited to have friends and family out there with me.”
On the women’s side, Tabby Stoecker, fresh from her third-place finish in the World Cup, spearheads a three-strong team alongside Amelia Coltman.
Britain boasts a strong history in the event, having won gold three times, and is one of only two nations, alongside Germany, to field three sleds.
Stoecker expressed her excitement, saying: “Getting selected for my first Olympic Games is a dream come true. I feel so incredibly proud of my journey up to this point and I can’t wait to represent my country in Cortina.”
Further medal prospects emerge in the mixed team skeleton, which makes its Olympic debut this year.
Great Britain secured this season’s World Cup title in the event, with the final team composition to be decided after the individual races, likely pairing the best male and female finishers.
In bobsleigh, Brad Hall has been selected for his third Olympic Games, piloting both the two-man and four-man squads.
The 35-year-old is Britain’s most successful men’s World Cup pilot, with an impressive 30 medals to his name.
He will be joined in both events by Taylor Lawrence, who has 25 World Cup medals and with whom Hall recently won World Cup bronze in St Moritz. Greg Cackett and Leon Greenwood complete the four-man squad, with Alex Cartagena named as the travelling reserve.
Despite a season hampered by injuries, the bobsleigh squad achieved fourth in the overall four-man World Cup standings and sixth in the two-man.
However, they face a formidable challenge from the German favourites at the Olympics. Adele Nicoll, who was a travelling reserve at Beijing 2022, will compete in both the monobob and two-woman events.
Nicoll, also a three-time British shot put champion, is joined in the two-woman by fellow track and field convert Ashleigh Nelson, who made her international bobsleigh debut last year.
Natalie Dunman, Team GB leader for bobsleigh and skeleton, conveyed cautious optimism: “We head to Cortina after a really positive Olympic Cycle in which both sports have won multiple World Championship and World Cup medals.
“The squad have demonstrated their strength in depth, with those medals shared across both bobsleigh and skeleton and across the men’s and women’s teams, and the athletes have regularly shown that they can compete with the best in the world.
“We believe we have a solid platform for success in Italy but we know that repeating those performances on the Olympic stage will require a huge effort from all the athletes and staff.
“We are quietly confident that we can do the country proud but we certainly won’t be taking anything for granted and we know that we will have to be at our very best if we are to achieve our aims next month.”
