Weston brings Britain rare individual medal

• AFP, CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy

Matt Weston’s skeleton Olympic gold on Friday was all the more remarkable given the Briton has broken his back twice, once so badly he was in a wheelchair and had to give up his first love, taekwondo.

The first time Weston broke his back it ended a promising career in the martial art for the 28-year-old, but bizarrely it turned out to be a blessing.

For he discovered skeleton, or as he describes it hurtling down the ice-covered track head first on a “very expensive tea tray.”

Although his second broken back came in a skeleton run, he persisted and it yielded two world championships and an overall World Cup title.

However, Friday capped all of them, as he became only the third British man to win an individual Winter Games gold and the first since 1980.

The achievement was all the more rewarding, because Weston was so disappointed by his performance in Beijing four years ago, he came close to quitting.

“It means everything,” he said, after he had wiped away his tears.

“I’ve worked so hard for this, but everyone back at home, my fiance, family and friends have sacrificed for me to be here,” he said. “I’ve missed funerals, birthdays, everything for this moment and it feels amazing.”

His fiancee, Alex Howard-Jones, and his parents, Alison and Tom, were in the crowd to witness his achievement.

“For the next few months at least I can say yes, this is the happiest day of my life, then I will have to change my answer,” said Weston, who could win another medal in the mixed event today.

For his teammates it would come as little surprise the man they call “Captain 110 percent” came out on top.

Weston admits he has to win at all costs.

“I want to win everything, I want to be a perfectionist in everything. I’m a nightmare when we play Monopoly at home,” he said.

Weston’s triumph is just the latest golden chapter for Britain in the sport.

The “very expensive tea tray” has historically served up some rare sweet moments for the British team at the Winter Olympics — they are the most successful nation in the sport.

Britain has won four gold, one silver and five bronze medals altogether, reflecting a nation without a winter sports tradition. Eight of those have come this century, repaying the huge investment made in skeleton.

Although they lack an ice track, they have a push-start concrete track at the University of Bath in southwest England and the sport was awarded almost ￡5 million (US$6.9 million) of funding toward these Games.

Still, it takes a particular type of character to want to compete in a sport that has competitors reaching 90km an hour. Weston, who trained with the elite Royal Marines when he took up skeleton, undergoing mental and physical tests, said those who are not familiar with the sport might wonder what he does.

“If it looks like I am lying there doing nothing, it means I am doing everything right,” he said prior to the Games.