Great Britain’s Matt Weston won the sixth race of the men’s skeleton World Cup season to take the overall lead in the competition.
Weston led Austria’s Samuel Maier by just 0.04 seconds by the end of the first run before opening up a gap of 0.62 seconds to take victory in Winterberg, Germany.
Weston leap-frogged British team-mate Marcus Wyatt at the top of the overall standings, after Wyatt finished eighth in Winterberg.
“It feels good, very good! What a way to start the new year!” Weston said.
“I’ve been really consistent, with medals in every race of this season, but it’s been a while since I won gold and I desperately wanted one today. To get that in the first race after Christmas means it’s pretty much a dream start to 2025.
“The weather was pretty unpredictable and tough to deal with, especially in Run 1. Marcus [Wyatt] got dealt a bad hand and it was really difficult to get a good push out of the spur because of the snow.”
Reigning World and European champion Christopher Grotheer won the opening four races of the competition but has fallen to third place after he did not compete in Latvia in December and came third on Friday.
British athlete Laurence Bostock finished 16th, 2.16 seconds behind Weston.
Weston, who last year became the first Briton to win the men’s World Cup in 16 years, will look to defend his title during the season’s remaining races in St. Moritz (Switzerland) and Lillehammer (Norway).
“I’m determined to retain my World Cup title and I want my World Championship crown back so today is a decent confidence boost,” Weston added.
The title is won by the athlete who secures the most points across eight World Cup races.
Freya Tarbit, Amelia Coltman and Tabitha Stoecker will race for GB in the women’s competition later on Friday. The trio are currently fourth, sixth and seventh in the rankings respectively.
