Team GB's Historic 'Super Sunday' at Winter Olympics with Double Gold
Day nine of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics proved to be an unprecedented triumph for Team Great Britain, marking the nation's most successful single day in Winter Games history. The highlight was a stunning double gold medal haul, with skeleton racers Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker clinching victory in the mixed team event.
Weston and Stoecker Make History on the Ice
Matt Weston, aged 29, has now etched his name into the record books twice at these Games. After securing Britain's first-ever men's skeleton Olympic gold on Friday, he became the first Briton to win two medals at the same Winter Olympics with this latest achievement. His partner, Tabby Stoecker, crowned her Olympic debut with a gold medal, a remarkable improvement from her fifth-place finish in the women's individual event.
The mixed skeleton competition, held on a freezing night at the Cortina Sliding Centre, saw Weston and Stoecker as the final team to race. Stoecker started strong, maintaining a green status for the first half of the track, but lost some time further down, leaving Weston with a 0.3-second deficit to overcome. In a dramatic comeback, Weston clawed back the time, and the pair set a new track record of 1:59.36, finishing 0.17 seconds ahead of the German duo Susanne Kreher and Axel Jungk, who added team silver to their individual silvers.
Britain's Golden Day Unfolds
This victory capped off what has been dubbed a 'Super Sunday' for Team GB, which had a slow start to the Games. Earlier in the day, Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale won Britain's first-ever gold medal on snow in the mixed snowboard cross event, setting the stage for the skeleton success. The British team's second pair in skeleton, Marcus Wyatt and Freya Tarbit, put in a valiant effort, finishing fourth with a time of 1:59.65, which briefly held as a track record before being surpassed.
Tarbit slid superbly to shave 0.3 seconds off the previous leading time set by China, with Wyatt maintaining their lead to top the standings temporarily. However, the German pair Kreher and Jungk managed to edge them out by 0.12 seconds, securing the silver medal and pushing Wyatt and Tarbit to fourth place, 0.29 seconds behind Weston and Stoecker.
Format and Competition Details
The mixed skeleton event features a female athlete racing down the track followed immediately by a male athlete, with their times combined to determine the winning team based on the lowest aggregate time. Unlike individual events that consist of four heats, each team only gets one run in this format, with time penalties imposed for false starts. This unique structure added to the high-stakes drama of the competition.
Germany's Jacqueline Pfeifer and Christopher Grotheer, both bronze medalists in their individual events, claimed another bronze in the team event, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind their compatriots Kreher and Jungk. This result underscored the intense competition and narrow margins that defined the day.
Overall, Team GB's performance on day nine has set a new benchmark for British winter sports, with three gold medals won in total, including the historic double in skeleton. The achievements of Weston, Stoecker, and their teammates have not only ended medal droughts but also inspired a nation, showcasing the growing prowess of British athletes on the global winter stage.
