Weston ends 2021 with 10th

Weston ends 2021 with 10th

Matt Weston ended 2021 with another solid showing as he finished 10th in today’s World Cup skeleton race in Sigulda.

Weston clocked a combined time of 1 minute 42.23 seconds in a race dominated by home favourites Tomas and Martins Dukurs.

It saw the 24-year-old complete the calendar year in seventh place in the world rankings with just a month to go until the start of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

Weston’s 2021 also featured an historic gold medal in Igls in November - GB’s first men’s World Cup win for nearly 14 years - in just his ninth ever World Cup race.

Brogan Crowley and Laura Deas also ended 2021 on a high with season’s best performances in the women’s race earlier in the day.

Crowley came 12th and Deas 14th in the sixth race of the season in respective times of 1 minute 45.88 seconds and 1.46.09 seconds in a 26-strong field in Sigulda.

Janine Flock won gold for Austria, with Russia’s Yulia Kanikina taking silver and Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands bronze.

Fellow Brits Marcus Wyatt and Craig Thompson finished equal 17th and 30th respectively in the men’s race. Wyatt completed two runs in 1 minute 42.94 seconds, with Thompson missing out on a second run after clocking 52.58 seconds in Run 1.

Martins Dukurs had taken his 59th World cup win in Altenberg before the Christmas break but it was brother Tomass who took top spot on home ice.

Tomass claimed the second World Cup win of his lengthy career, with Martins taking silver to move up to second spot in the overall rankings behind Germany’s Christopher Grotheer, who finished fifth.

Seunggi Jung claimed his frst World Cup medal in 16 attempts as he won bronze ahead of Russia’s Evgeniy Rukosuev.

There’s monobob and 2-man bobsleigh action in Sigulda on Saturday and women’s bobsleigh and a second 2-man race on Sunday before the circuit moves on to Winterberg next week.