Weston and Tabitha Stoecker clinch dramatic mixed team skeleton gold for Great Britain
The British duo of Matt Weston and Tabitha Stoecker delivered a tense, last-run victory in the mixed team skeleton at the Cortina Sliding Centre, sealing gold by just 0. 17 seconds and adding a historic second individual gold to Weston's Winter Olympics haul.
Weston’s closing run makes history
Weston, who had already taken the men’s skeleton title earlier in the Games, produced a faultless second leg to overturn a slender German advantage and secure victory for the top-seeded British pairing. Weston timed his run at 58. 59 seconds, rocketing past the German competitors and ensuring he became the first Briton to claim two gold medals at the same Winter Olympics.
The emotion was raw at the finish as Weston sealed the result with a composed, speed-heavy line down the Cortina track. The margin was tiny — just 0. 17 seconds separated the British winners from the silver medallists — but it was decisive, confirming both Weston's status at the top of the sport and the strength of the British skeleton programme at these Games.
Stoecker’s solid start and the razor-thin margins
Tabitha Stoecker had laid the platform for the comeback with a strong opening run of 1: 00. 77, leaving the pair slightly behind the German leaders heading into the final leg. Stoecker (tabitha stoecker) had earlier in the weekend finished fifth in the individual women’s competition, but her performance in the team event helped set up the dramatic finish.
The competition was tightly contested throughout. Two German teams also pushed for the podium: the pairing of Jacqueline Pfeifer and Christopher Grotheer secured silver, while Axel Jungk and Susanne Kreher rounded out the podium in bronze. A second British combination, Marcus Wyatt and Freya Tarbit, was agonisingly close to medalling but were edged into fourth by a mere 0. 01 seconds — a sliver of time that underlined just how finely balanced the team event proved to be.
Broader significance for Great Britain at these Games
The mixed team skeleton gold added to a growing British medal haul and marked another landmark moment for the nation's winter sport efforts. The victory reinforced the depth and precision of Britain’s skeleton athletes, with Weston in particular converting outstanding form into historic success.
Beyond individual accolades, the result highlighted the unpredictability and drama of sled disciplines, where hundredths of a second determine podium places and marginal gains in line and start speed have outsized effects on outcomes. For the British teams, the mixed event provided both elation and heartbreak — celebrations for the winners and heartbreak for the narrowly beaten quartet who missed a medal by the smallest of margins.
As the Games continue, Weston and Stoecker’s gold will stand as one of the standout moments from the sliding centre, a reminder that careful execution under pressure can produce Olympic history.
