British skeleton competitor Matt Skelton secured the country's first overall men's World Cup gold by finishing equal fourth at Lake Placid; fellow Brit Marcus Wyatt narrowly missed out on taking victory in the race
Thursday 21 March 2024 21:48, UK
Matt Weston secured Great Britain's first overall World Cup title in men's skeleton for 16 years at the final event of the season in Lake Placid.
Weston had looked set to have to settle for silver behind Christopher Grotheer once again, as he trailed his rival by 75 points after seven races across the events held through Asia, Europe and North America.
However, after the German could only finish in 17th on Thursday, an equal fourth place for Weston saw him take the overall gold.
"I wasn't expecting this at all, but it is an amazing feeling," Weston said.
"With Grotheer being as consistent as he is, it was hard to see him finishing down the field here, but that's what happened.
"It wasn't my best day personally in terms of my own performance either, but after such a tough season, it is a massive boost to my confidence going into next year and building up to the next Olympics."
Weston, 27, has now won World Championship gold, European Championship gold and overall World Cup gold over the last two seasons.
Fellow British competitor Marcus Wyatt, the reigning European champion, just missed out on taking gold in the Lake Placid race when he finished just 0.04 seconds behind China's Yin Zheng.
