Weston waiting 'til 2026 to celebrate
British Skeleton’s Matt Weston may have won one of the biggest prizes in the sport just over a week ago but there was never any danger of him overdoing the celebrations.
Weston won World Championship gold in Lake Placid, regaining the title he won in St Moritz two seasons ago and making a whole heap of history in the process.
The 28-year-old became the country’s first ever multiple World Champion and GB’s most decorated athlete at World Championship level, with his latest landmark achievement coming just a month after he retainied his Overall World Cup crown after another stunning eight-race season across Europe and Asia.
To most, it would be a great reason to sit back, give yourself a big pat on the pack and revel in the glory while letting off a bit of steam at the same time, but that’s not how Weston works. Instead, he’s already thinking about what’s next, focussing on the one major title he’s yet to win, and working out just how he can ensure the party is really worth throwing after next year’s Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina.
“There were no celebrations after winning the Overall World Cup and that’s been similar after the Worlds,” said Weston.
We went out as a squad after the team race in Lake Placid but it was all pretty low key. I’ve not really taken my foot off the gas or really celebrated and I don’t really plan to.
“There’s still one thing I haven’t achieved and I’m focussing 100 per cent on Milan Cortina next year. All the successes over the last three years are stepping stones on the way to Cortina. That’s when I’ll properly let my hair down.”
Weston has certainly done everything he can this year to give himself the best shot possible of celebrating in 11 months’ time and even he knows his achievements this term and throughout the Olympic cycle so far are a boost in terms of completing the Italian Job in Cortina.
“To be a medalist at the last three World Championships and only losing to Grotheer (Olympic Champion Christopher Grotheer) by two tenths on a German track at the Worlds in 2024 shows that, over four heats, I can perform consistently,” added Weston, who took gold by a staggering 1.9 seconds in the States.
I can turn into a different - and better - athlete on the big stage. That’s what the Olympics is all about: performing consistently under pressure.
“I’ve learnt so much over the last three years, particularly at the World Championships, so, if I’m in similar situations going into Cortina, I’ve got a good idea of how to feel and how to react, and that should make me a stronger.”
Drawing on past experiences was definitely something that brought rewards in Lake Placid, with Weston taking himself back to St Moritz two years ago when he again opened up a huge lead after the first day of competition.
The former taekwondo athlete led by a massive margin at the halfway mark in 2023 and, after surging ahead by 0.89 seconds after the first two runs in Placid, he used the memories of Moritz to keep him on track and avoid any mishaps in Runs 3 and 4.
“Having won it before definitely helped me. I used my experience from the first one throughout the heats, especially when I was going to bed after Day 1 leading overnight. I was in a similar position to St Moritz with a big gap between me and the rest and that experience made it easier for me. I knew how to feel and what to expect and I felt more ready for it this time.
Something that worked really well in Moritz and something I carried into this race was taking every single run as Run 1. I went after it and went chasing in every single run.
“There is an added pressure in that people expected me to not only win the race after Day 1 but to continue the trend from the first two heats. The extra pressure to do that at such a high level is really difficult but, because I took everything as Run 1, I was able to stay calm and relaxed and I didn’t let it affect me.
“The relief at the end definitely felt similar, too. It wasn’t as brand new because I’d done it before but it was still pretty special.
I wasn’t expecting it to be such a big margin. You look at the rest of the field and the rest of the times between places, it was pretty close. It’s crazy that I was so far ahead and that definitely hasn’t sunk in yet. It was definitely a shock.
“Someone told me at the bottom of the track that I’ve now got two of the three biggest winning margins at a World Champs and the biggest one is still held by my coach Martins (Dukurs)! To be up there with him is pretty crazy.
“If you’d have told me when I started skeleton that I’d be a double World Champion and double Overall World Cup winner, I wouldn’t have believed you. But, as a person, I’m extremely competitive and I’m a perfectionist. I’ve always wanted to be the best at everything I do and that’s started to translate into results now.”
