{"id":2626,"date":"2026-02-14T10:50:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T10:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=2626"},"modified":"2026-02-14T10:50:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T10:50:42","slug":"who-is-matt-weston-the-athlete-who-has-won-team-gbs-first-gold-at-2026-winter-olympics-uk-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=2626","title":{"rendered":"Who is Matt Weston? The athlete who has won Team GB&#8217;s first gold at 2026 Winter Olympics | UK News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component-name=\"ui-article-body\" data-testid=\"article-body\" data-highlight-intro=\"true\">\n<p>Matt Weston won gold in the men&#8217;s singles skeleton competition, securing Team GB its first medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>The 28-year-old had been the favourite for gold after leading at the halfway stage of the event on Thursday, with track records in the first two heats.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the world and European champion posted another track record on his third run &#8211; recording a 0.39-second advantage at the top of the leaderboard before <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/team-gb-secure-first-gold-at-2026-winter-olympics-as-matt-weston-wins-mens-singles-skeleton-13507283\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>bringing the gold home<\/strong><\/a> in his final heat at the Milano Cortina Games.<\/p>\n<p>A strong run saw him secure the win by increasing his margin of victory to 0.88 seconds, with his fourth track record.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-site-video\" data-testid=\"site-video\">\n<div class=\"ui-video-player\" data-component-name=\"ui-video-player\" data-testid=\"video-player\" data-autoplay=\"false\" data-orientation=\"\" data-disable-ads=\"\" data-disable-post-rolls=\"\" data-ad-tag=\"20346936\/skynews\/videoplayer\" data-content-source-id=\"2537425\" data-show-captions=\"\" data-account-id=\"6058004172001\" data-player-id=\"FeuO55X2f\" data-video-id=\"96216e37-a550-4a45-9f62-ac85908fa716\" data-auto-change-orientation=\"\" data-autoload=\"false\" data-pause-if-visibility-changes=\"mobile\" id=\"\" data-id=\"\" data-deferred-load=\"\" data-captions-position=\"lower-third\" data-share-url=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/share\/13507376\">\n          <button class=\"ui-video-player-poster\" title=\"Play Video\" data-testid=\"video-player-poster\"><\/p>\n<p>            <noscript>You need javascript enabled to view this content<\/noscript><\/p>\n<div aria-hidden=\"true\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olympics_7164479.jpg?20260213211306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olympics_7164479.jpg?20260213211306 700w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/384x216\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olympics_7164479.jpg?20260213211306 360w\" class=\"ui-video-player-poster-image\" alt=\"\" data-testid=\"video-player-poster-image\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"ui-video-player-body\" inert=\"\">\n            <video-js class=\"ui-video-player-tag\" playsinline=\"\" poster=\"\"\/><br \/>\n             <button class=\"ui-share-button\" data-share-title=\"\" data-share-url=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/share\/13507376\" data-component-name=\"ui-share-button\" data-could-not-share=\"\" data-type=\"compact\" data-tracking-label=\"\/share-button\/video\"><br \/>\n    <noscript>Enable javascript to share<\/noscript><br \/>\n    <span class=\"ui-share-button-label\" data-role=\"share-label\" aria-live=\"polite\">Share<\/span><br \/>\n    <svg class=\"ui-share-button-icon\" width=\"20\" height=\"22\" fill=\"none\" version=\"1.1\" viewbox=\"0 0 20 22\"><path d=\"m17 0c0.0557 0 0.111 9e-4 0.166 0.0039 0.977 0.0363 1.91 0.553 2.44 1.46 0.266 0.456 0.39 0.954 0.392 1.45 1e-3 0.0314 0.0029 0.063 0.0029 0.0947 0 1.66-1.34 3-3 3-0.699 0-1.34-0.241-1.85-0.643l-9.17 5.25c0.0165 0.128 0.0263 0.258 0.0263 0.39 0 0.132-0.0099 0.261-0.0263 0.389l9.18 5.25c0.51-0.4 1.15-0.641 1.85-0.641 1.66 0 3 1.34 3 3 0 0.0314-0.0019 0.0626-0.0029 0.0938-0.0015 0.492-0.126 0.99-0.392 1.45-0.525 0.902-1.46 1.42-2.44 1.46-0.055 3e-3 -0.11 0.0049-0.166 0.0049-1.66 0-3-1.34-3-3 0-0.106 5e-3 -0.21 0.0157-0.312l-9.23-5.28c-0.5 0.372-1.12 0.596-1.79 0.596-1.66 0-3-1.34-3-3s1.34-3 3-3c0.671 0 1.29 0.223 1.79 0.595l9.23-5.28c-0.0106-0.102-0.0157-0.206-0.0157-0.312 0-1.66 1.34-3 3-3z\" role=\"presentation\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n    <svg class=\"ui-share-button-tick\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" fill=\"none\" version=\"1.1\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\"><path d=\"m15.7 2.69c0.39 0.391 0.39 1.02 0 1.41l-9.8 9.8-0.0762 0.0683c-0.131 0.107-0.283 0.176-0.44 0.206-0.0943 0.0182-0.191 0.0228-0.286 0.0137-0.0321-0.0031-0.064-0.0076-0.0957-0.0137-0.0631-0.0122-0.125-0.0302-0.186-0.0547-0.12-0.0488-0.233-0.122-0.33-0.22l-4.19-4.19c-0.39-0.391-0.39-1.02 0-1.41l0.694-0.694 4.21 4.2 9.81-9.81 0.694 0.694z\" role=\"presentation\"\/><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/button>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n                <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-role=\"caption-text\" data-testid=\"caption-text\">&#8216;Going up to 90mph on a very expensive tea tray&#8217;<\/span>\n            <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Who is Matt Weston?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Weston started out his sporting career in a completely different discipline.<\/p>\n<p>He practised taekwondo up until the age of 17, winning medals at UK-based events and international honours whilst representing England abroad.<\/p>\n<p>At the taekwondo European Cup in 2012 he won both gold and silver, adding a silver and bronze to his collection at the International Taekwondo Federation World Cup in 2014 before retiring from the sport aged 17 due to a fracture in his back.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\" data-testid=\"article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"3\/4\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"563x750\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/563x750\/skynews-matt-weston-team-gb_7164482.jpg?20260213213527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/252x337\/skynews-matt-weston-team-gb_7164482.jpg?20260213213527 380w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/563x750\/skynews-matt-weston-team-gb_7164482.jpg?20260213213527 760w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/900x1200\/skynews-matt-weston-team-gb_7164482.jpg?20260213213527 1024w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Matt Weston after his win. Pic: Reuters\" data-testid=\"article-image-image\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption-text\">Matt Weston after his win. Pic: Reuters<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Right until he started the selection process for British Skeleton, he also played rugby, previously representing Kent as well as his local team Sevenoaks RFC and a Saracens Academy College.<\/p>\n<p>His introduction to skeleton came via the British Skeleton Discover Your Gold talent identification scheme following a suggestion from his weightlifting coach, Chris Dear.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\" data-testid=\"article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"768x432\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-winter-olympics-matt-weston_7163981.jpg?20260213120941\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/384x216\/skynews-winter-olympics-matt-weston_7163981.jpg?20260213120941 380w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-winter-olympics-matt-weston_7163981.jpg?20260213120941 760w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/1600x900\/skynews-winter-olympics-matt-weston_7163981.jpg?20260213120941 1024w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/2048x1152\/skynews-winter-olympics-matt-weston_7163981.jpg?20260213120941 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Pic: AP\" data-testid=\"article-image-image\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption-text\">Pic: AP<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Speaking to Sky News sports presenter Jacquie Beltrao, Weston said it takes a &#8220;certain type of person&#8221; to take part in Skeleton.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To get over that fear when you first start and you go down and you have no brakes,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Whether you have a good run, a bad run, you crash or don&#8217;t crash, you are going to the bottom because it&#8217;s just sheet ice. Once you get over the fear and apprehension about that, it&#8217;s so much fun.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\" data-testid=\"article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"768x432\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-team-gb-skeleton-matt-weston_7163982.jpg?20260213121013\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/384x216\/skynews-team-gb-skeleton-matt-weston_7163982.jpg?20260213121013 380w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-team-gb-skeleton-matt-weston_7163982.jpg?20260213121013 760w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/1600x900\/skynews-team-gb-skeleton-matt-weston_7163982.jpg?20260213121013 1024w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/2048x1152\/skynews-team-gb-skeleton-matt-weston_7163982.jpg?20260213121013 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Weston after he secured first place. Pic: AP\" data-testid=\"article-image-image\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption-text\">Weston after he secured first place. Pic: AP<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>From beginner to Olympian <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Weston made his debut in skeleton in 2019. Before then he completed a tense training period with the Royal Marines, which was designed to test his physical and mental fitness.<\/p>\n<p>He finished 15th in his debut race on the Europa Cup in Winterberg, Germany, closely followed by a silver medal in Igls, Austria, and bronze in Altenberg, Germany, just a month later.<\/p>\n<p>By 2020 Weston was competing on the World Cup circuit and in November 2021 he won gold for Great Britain, the first men&#8217;s World Cup win in skeleton for almost 14 years.<\/p>\n<p>Just over two years after he made his debut, he competed as an Olympian at the Beijing winter games in 2022.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\" data-testid=\"article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"768x432\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olmpics_7164491.jpg?20260213212023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/384x216\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olmpics_7164491.jpg?20260213212023 380w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olmpics_7164491.jpg?20260213212023 760w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/1600x900\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olmpics_7164491.jpg?20260213212023 1024w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/2048x1152\/skynews-matt-weston-winter-olmpics_7164491.jpg?20260213212023 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Matt Weston celebrates with the other medallists. Pic: Reuters\" data-testid=\"article-image-image\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption-text\">Matt Weston celebrates with the other medallists. Pic: Reuters<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 2023, and paired with six-time world champion Martins Dukurs as a coach, Weston made major gains on both European and world stages.<\/p>\n<p>He won the European title in January 2023 and a week later became world champion, taking the crown by a staggering 1.49 seconds.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sdc-article-widget sdc-article-image\" data-testid=\"article-image\">\n<figure class=\"sdc-article-image__figure\">\n<div class=\"sdc-article-image__wrapper\" data-aspect-ratio=\"16\/9\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sdc-article-image__item\" loading=\"lazy\" intrinsicsize=\"768x432\" src=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-matt-weston-skeleton_7164501.jpg?20260213212838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/384x216\/skynews-matt-weston-skeleton_7164501.jpg?20260213212838 380w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/768x432\/skynews-matt-weston-skeleton_7164501.jpg?20260213212838 760w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/1600x900\/skynews-matt-weston-skeleton_7164501.jpg?20260213212838 1024w, https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/26\/02\/2048x1152\/skynews-matt-weston-skeleton_7164501.jpg?20260213212838 2048w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1024px) 1024px, 100vw\" alt=\"Matt Weston as he crossed the finish line. Pic: AP\" data-testid=\"article-image-image\"\/>\n    <\/div><figcaption class=\"ui-media-caption\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption\">\n        <span class=\"u-hide-visually\">Image:<\/span><br \/>\n        <span class=\"ui-media-caption__caption-text\" data-testid=\"article-image-caption-text\">Matt Weston as he crossed the finish line. Pic: AP<br \/>\n        <\/span><br \/>\n      <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Read more:<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/maybe-you-didnt-hear-the-boos-at-home-but-the-winter-olympics-opening-ceremony-became-an-outlet-for-rage-13504325\" target=\"_blank\">Winter Olympics opening ceremony became an outlet for rage<\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/ukrainian-olympian-banned-from-competing-over-helmet-honouring-war-dead-13506639\" target=\"_blank\">Ukrainian Olympian banned from competing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/maybe-you-didnt-hear-the-boos-at-home-but-the-winter-olympics-opening-ceremony-became-an-outlet-for-rage-13504325\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Weston started the 2025\/26 season recovering from a thigh injury, but this didn&#8217;t hold him back.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2025 he took his second world champion crown and in January of this year &#8211; only a month before the start of the Olympics &#8211; he clinched his third successive overall World Cup title.<\/p>\n<p>He remains the UK&#8217;s most decorated slider at the world championship level.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/who-is-matt-weston-the-athlete-going-for-team-gbs-first-gold-at-winter-olympics-13507018\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matt Weston won gold in the men&#8217;s singles skeleton competition, securing Team GB its first medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy. The 28-year-old had been&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}