Team gold plus men's silver & bronze

Great Britain’s dream start to the skeleton season continued with team gold the highlight of another medal hat trick in Germany on Friday.

Marcus Wyatt and Tabby Stoecker took top spot in the team competition in Altenberg just a couple of hours after Wyatt had won bronze and Matt Weston silver in the men’s event.

Reigning European Champion Wyatt and 24-year old Stoecker finished 0.37 seconds clear of their nearest rivals in the first of four World Cup team races this season. The discipline makes its Olympic debut in Italy in 2026 and, with GB having secured three podium places at the last two World Championships in the team competition, Wyatt and Stoecker again showed that it is another genuine medal opportunity in Milan Cortina.

The British pair beat Austin Florian and Sara Roderick of the United States into second place at arguably the most technical track on the circuit, with 2023 World Champions Christopher Grotheer and Susanne Kreher 0.63 seconds adrift in taking bronze.

Both Wyatt and Stoecker were the fastest in their respective categories within the team race, with Wyatt coming down in 59.57 seconds and Stocker clocking 1 minute 01.62. 

In the men’s race at the same track, both Weston and Wyatt came agonisingly close to gold. Weston won silver for the second race running, missing gold by just 0.03 seconds, having been 0.01 seconds shy of first place in Beijing last time out. 

Wyatt couldn’t have been any closer to sharing silver with his team mate as he finished one hundredth behind Weston to take bronze.

The British pair have now won seven medals in four men’s World Cup competitions since the season started last month, with Weston taking two silver and two bronze and Wyatt two silver and a bronze to go with his fourth place in China. That success leaves Weston second and Wyatt third in the world rankings behind only Germany’s Grotheer. The reigning World and Olympic Champion has won all four individual races this season as he looks to bounce back from the disappointment of losing his Overall World Cup crown to Weston last term.

Craig Thompson finished 15th - the same position he holds in the world rankings - and he later placed 10th in the team event with Freya Tarbit.

Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt won silver and bronze

Adverse weather conditions earlier in the day saw the women’s race reduced to one run rather than the usual two, with Amelia Coltman making the wider podium for GB with a sixth-place finish.

Coltman, who won the opening race of the season in PyeongChang last month, finished in a time of 1.01.88,  0.33 seconds shy of Olympic Champion Hannah Neise in the bronze medal position. Kreher took silver and Belgium’s Kim Meylemans was the race winner. 

Stoecker was 10th in 1.01.97 and Tarbit, who led the World Cup rankings heading into the fourth race of the year, could only finish 21st but she still sits third in the season standings. Stoecker is seventh and Coltman is now ninth overall. 

The next World Cup skeleton action is in Sigulda, Latvia on Friday but there is bobsleigh competition taking place this Saturday and Sunday when Adele Nicoll, Brad Hall and Adam Baird drive GB sleds in Germany.