Clare Balding was forced to momentarily pause the BBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics, as Lizzy Yarnold was reduced to tears by Matt Weston’s heroics. The Team GB athlete became not only the first British man to win a gold medal in the skeleton on Friday evening, but also clinched his nation’s first gold since the women’s curling at the 2022 games in Beijing.
Weston secured victory in 55.61 seconds with an overall winning time of 3:43.33 – his winning time coming +0.88 faster than second-placed Axel Jungk of Germany. The 28-year-old was also emotional as he spoke about what the achievement meant to him. He told BBC Sport: « It means everything.
« It means a hell of a lot to me personally, I’ve worked so hard for this. But everyone back home – my fiance, my family, my friends, everyone who has sacrificed everything for this. I’ve missed funerals, birthdays, everything for this moment. It feels amazing. »
A two-time Olympic skeleton champion herself, Yarnold said about Weston: « Every single one of the four runs were absolute perfection.
« Incredibly impressive from Matt Weston. What stands out for me is each and every time Matt Weston stood at the start block he was looking down the track, he excelled, he accelerated, he was so focused. I really can’t find the words to describe how incredibly impressed I am with his performance. »
Shortly after speaking, however, Yarnold broke down in tears herself and put her hands over her face. Balding then stepped in to take over presenting while Yarnold collected herself.
It comes as Weston was greeted by a suprise visitor in Anne, Princess Royal, moments after breaking a course record at the Cortina d’Ampezzo on Thursday afternoon. Despite making a minor error early on, the reigning world champion finished in just 56.21 to set a new fastest time.
In the aftermatch, the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II was spotted speaking with him, while Yarnold gave her take. She said: « I was wondering whether he was going to bow as soon as he came off the skeleton run. What an honour to meet Princess Anne, she’s such a fan of sport as well, so I’m really glad to see that she’s there.
« You are living within a bubble within the Olympic environment in the village, so you can choose almost to just tune into yourself and the track and the purity of it. It’s just numbers, it’s just a track, do the best you can. »
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