Featured: GB win silver in skeleton team race
Great Britain celebrated their second medal of the World Championships as Tabby Stoecker and Matt Weston won Skeleton Team silver in Winterberg.
It comes just 24 hours after Weston won individual silver in the men’s event, with Stoecker finishing fourth in the women’s competition yesterday.
Fellow Brits Amelia Coltman and Marcus Wyatt placed fourth in the 18-team event as Wyatt suffered heartbreak for the second day running after missing a medal by just one hundredth of a second in the men’s race.
It is the second season in succession that GB have won multiple World championship medals following the three they claimed in St Moritz last season (men’s gold, team silver and bronze). The country’s most recent World Championship medal prior to last season came in 2017 but the team now have five in 13 months as they build towards the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
“It’s an amazing feeling, especially after coming so close yesterday,” said Stoecker, who was competing in just her second World Championships, having finished 23rd in the women’s race last season.
To be on the podium at the World Championships in my first full season at this level is incredible.
“It was tough to miss out yesterday but I’ve loved every minute of these World Champs & this is a brilliant way to end the week. I’m so proud.”
“It’s another great result for the team - we’ve had an incredible week across the board,” added Weston, who is now the most decorated British World Championship slider of all time with four medals.
“The Germans are dominant on their home ice so to come so close to beating both Olympic Champions in a team event here is pretty good going. Tabby was unbelievable. I’m so proud of how she’s performed this week.
I’m still gutted not to be coming away with a gold medal after yesterday but we have to look at this week as a major success when you see how consistent the whole team was.
“I really feel for Marcus and Amelia, especially after Marcus missed out yesterday, but we’ll look to get two team medals at next year’s Worlds in Placid!”
The squad leave Winterberg with four of their five sliders having been on at least the wider podium (top six) in both races they competed in, with Craig Thompson finishing eighth in his single appearance in the men’s competition.
Stoecker and Weston set a combined time of 1 minute 59.21 seconds, with Stoecker coming down in 60.47 seconds and Weston in 58.74. Coltman and Wyatt clocked 1.59.46, with Wyatt (who set a track record in yesterday’s final heat in the men’s race) the second fastest slider of the day in 58.70 seconds.
Germany won gold and bronze on home ice as Olympic Champions Christopher Grotheer and Hannah Neise took top spot and Jacqueline Pfeifer and Axel Jungk pipped Coltman and Wyatt to bronze.
Gold for Grotheer was his second of the week and his third team win in a row, with Neise winning bronze in the women’s race yesterday. They finished 0.12 seconds clear of Stoecker and Weston, who were in turn a tenth of a second faster than Pfeifer and Jungk, with the bronze medal winning German pair now holding a staggering 15 World Championship medals between them.
British Skeleton athletes are next on ice at the final World Cup race of the season in Lake Placid on March 21st. Weston is currently second in the world rankings behind Grotheeer and on course for back-to-back Overall World Cup silver medals.
This year’s World Championships take place in Winterberg, Germany from February 22nd - March 3rd, with the schedule as follows:
Thurs 22 & Fri 23 Feb
Women's Skeleton: Stoecker 4th; Coltman 6th
Men's Skeleton: Weston 2nd; Wyatt 4th; Thompson 8th
Sat 24 Feb
Women's Monobob Heats 1&2: Nicoll 10th
2-man Bobsleigh Heats 1&2: Hall & Lawrence 4th; Stanbridge & Hullah 23rd
Skeleton Mixed Team Competition: Stoecker & Weston 2nd; Coltman & Wyatt 4th
Sun 25 Feb
Women's Monobob Heats 3&4 8.15am
2-man Bobsleigh Heats 3&4 12.15pm
Fri 1 Mar
Women's Bobsleigh Heats 1&2 2pm
Sat 2 Mar
4-man Bobsleigh Heats 1&2 9am
Women's Bobsleigh Heats 3&4 1.30pm
Sun 3 Mar
4-man Bobsleigh Heats 3&4 1pm
All races will be shown live on the IBSF YouTube channel and website
