Matt Weston: The Skeleton Star Leading Team GB's Olympic Charge
As the men's singles skeleton final approaches at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, all eyes are on Team GB's Matt Weston. The 29-year-old athlete from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, holds a commanding 0.3-second lead after the first day of competition, positioning himself as Britain's strongest hope for a first medal at these games. His teammate Marcus Wyatt currently sits in seventh place, but Weston's performance has ignited hopes that the United Kingdom might finally break onto the medal table.
From Taekwondo to Skeleton: A Unique Athletic Journey
Weston's path to Olympic contention began in a completely different sport. He practiced taekwondo until age 17, achieving significant success including gold and silver medals at the 2012 European Cup and additional honors at the 2014 International Taekwondo Federation World Cup. A back fracture forced his retirement from taekwondo, but he remained active in rugby, representing Kent, Sevenoaks RFC, and the Saracens Academy College.
His transition to skeleton came through the British Skeleton Discover Your Gold talent identification program, suggested by his weightlifting coach Chris Dear. Weston describes skeleton as requiring a "certain type of person" who can overcome the initial fear of racing down sheet ice with no brakes. "Once you get over the fear and apprehension about that, it's so much fun," he told Sky News sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao.
Rapid Rise to World Champion Status
Weston made his skeleton debut in 2019 after completing an intensive training period with the Royal Marines designed to test his physical and mental resilience. His early results were impressive: a 15th-place finish in his first Europa Cup race in Winterberg, Germany, followed quickly by silver in Igls, Austria, and bronze in Altenberg, Germany.
By 2020, he was competing on the World Cup circuit, and in November 2021, he secured Great Britain's first men's World Cup skeleton victory in nearly 14 years. Just over two years after his debut, he competed at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
The 2023 season marked a breakthrough under coach Martins Dukurs, a six-time world champion. Weston captured the European title in January 2023 and became world champion just one week later, winning by a staggering 1.49-second margin. He continued his dominance into the 2025/26 season, overcoming a thigh injury to claim his second world championship crown in March 2025 and securing his third consecutive overall World Cup title in January 2026, just weeks before the Olympics.
Britain's Most Decorated Slider
Matt Weston now stands as the United Kingdom's most decorated slider at the world championship level. His combination of taekwondo discipline, rugby athleticism, and mental toughness honed through Royal Marines training has created a uniquely prepared Olympic contender. As the skeleton final approaches, Weston carries not just his own ambitions but the hopes of a nation seeking its first medal of the Milano Cortina games.
