Who said Friday the 13th was a bad omen? After a week of British medal hopefuls falling like dominoes, Matt Weston delivered a stunning skeleton gold to kickstart the British medal train at these Winter Olympics. The 28-year-old’s victory was so brilliant and so dominant, you could not help but wonder if he really is one of ours.
Great Britain is hardly known for its winter sporting prowess but Weston, a former rugby hopeful from Kent, blew everyone else away to bag just the 13th winter gold in the 102-year history of the Games – and on this notorious day too. Today’s date (February 14th) is rather important as well, and Weston’s fiancée, Alex Howard-Jones, was there to see him cross the line and seal gold with a chef’s kiss, even if she flies home today and he spends Valentine’s alone.
“It means everything. It means a hell of a lot to me personally. I have worked so hard for this,” Weston said. “Everyone back at home – my fiancée, my family, my friends – everyone who has sacrificed for me to be here.
“I have missed funerals, birthdays, everything for this moment and it feels amazing. I’ve been fortunate enough to win World Championships, European Championships and other things as well and this blows them all out of the water.
“I almost feel numb. It’s kind of not real. I keep touching it [gold medal] to make sure it is real but it doesn’t feel real.” Weston became the third British man to win an individual Winter Olympic gold, joining figure skaters John Curry and Robin Cousins, and did so with a style they would approve of.
He controlled the competition from start to finish to win by 0.88s from Germany’s Axel Jungk. The world champion and undisputed king of his sport, he was supposedly the British banker and more than lived up to the billing, even if a 12-centimetre tear in his quad eight weeks before the season left him wondering if he would even make it here.
“It was probably the worst start to a season you could kind of wish for,” he added. “I came here [Cortina] for my first runs of the year in a test event and I managed to win so I took some confidence.
“I want to win everything, I want to be a perfectionist in everything. I’m a nightmare when we play Monopoly at home. My teammates call me Captain 110 per cent because I can’t not win.”
Weston still dominated the season, and this final. He arrived with a 0.30s lead from Thursday and extended it twice with two track records, darting around at 126kph.
“It’s the best day of my life but I’m getting married in July so I can say yes for about a few months and then I have to change my answer,” he added.
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