Team GB skeleton star Matt Weston has discovered that Olympic glory comes with an unexpected price tag following his remarkable double gold medal performance at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. The Tunbridge Wells athlete, who partnered with Tabby Stoecker to secure the mixed team skeleton title on Sunday, now faces the considerable task of supplying multiple crates of beer to track workers after establishing five new track records during his victorious runs.
Olympic Success with a Traditional Cost
The road to Olympic gold typically involves immense sacrifice and dedication, but for Weston, there exists an additional, less conventional requirement rooted in winter sports tradition. "For those who don't know the tradition is that every time you break a track record you have to buy a crate of beers for all the track workers," Weston explained following his historic achievements. "I've broken five of them so that's a lot. It's pretty insane to be honest: five race runs, five track records. I need to supply a lot of beer for the track workers, I think."
Double Gold Achievement in Milan Cortina
Weston's mixed team victory with Stoecker arrived just forty-eight hours after he claimed the individual skeleton crown, creating an extraordinary weekend for British winter sports. The athlete's performance proved particularly dominant as he established new track standards during each of his five competitive runs, leaving facility staff to toast the Briton's rapid descents while anticipating their traditional reward.
The mixed team success contributed to a super Sunday for Team GB, following Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale's gold medal triumph in the mixed team snowboard cross event. This particular victory marked Britain's inaugural Winter Olympic gold medal achieved on snow, helping position the nation twelfth in the overall medal table after nine days of intense competition in Italy.
Justifying Favorite Status with Supreme Performance
Weston entered the Milan Cortina Games as the clear favorite following an exceptional preparation period, and he thoroughly justified that status with commanding displays across both individual and team competitions. "Obviously the individual one has a special place in my heart, it's everything you dream about in the sport, but now we have the team race, this was another goal," Weston reflected.
The champion skeleton slider elaborated on his strategic approach: "I treated it like a five-heat race, I had things I wanted to clean up from the individual, I wanted to tick those boxes and be boring, get it done. Hopefully that would be enough and now we are here with two golds."
North London athlete Tabby Stoecker expressed similar elation following their shared triumph: "It was everything you dream of but are not sure if it is going to happen or not. I woke up and I was trying to stay really present and remember that I had one more run and tried to make it better than yesterday. For this outcome, I'm just so, so happy."
While Weston celebrates his dual gold medal accomplishments, the unique tradition of winter sports ensures his victory comes with both Olympic glory and the practical responsibility of honoring track workers with substantial beer shipments, creating a memorable post-competition obligation for the newly crowned champion.
