Matt Weston has admitted it would be "insane" if he became the first Winter Olympian in more than 40 years to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year (SPOTY). The 29-year-old is the fourth favourite with bookmakers to claim the prize after winning two gold medals at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games in February.
Historic double gold in Milano Cortina
Weston, from Surrey, won both the individual and mixed team skeleton events, becoming only the second Team GB athlete to secure two Winter Olympic gold medals, after Lizzy Yarnold. He set four course records on his way to individual victory, finishing 0.88 seconds ahead of Germany's Axel Jungk.
Just two days later, Weston celebrated alongside Tabitha Stoecker after clinching mixed team gold, running a final time of 1:59:36, 0.17 seconds ahead of Germany's Susanne Kreher and Jungk, and setting a new track record in the process.
The achievements have earned him the freedom of his hometown, Crowborough, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Kent. He is among the frontrunners to win the most prestigious honour in British sport.
Weston's reaction to SPOTY nomination
Speaking to The Mirror about the potential of winning SPOTY, Weston said: "I think the honour for me, like you said at the start, there has been so many pinch me moments and so many people that I've met and situations that I've been in that I never thought would be possible.
"I do a sport where we don't get much publicity. When you compare us to footballers and things like that, we're like the 0.1 per cent of the publicity and the time and effort that, well, the viewership that they get. And the fact that my name is up there with some huge athletics and football names, like I'm next to Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham! Just to have my name on these lists that are going out there at the moment, that's an honour in itself for me. I'm really happy with that."
He added: "The thought of winning it? I don't know, I don't know. It would be insane. I've already had some amazing responses from the British public and the support that they have given me. I feel very honoured to be a part of that and feel very grateful. And the fact that there's a chance that the British public could do that for me as well would be honestly insane."
Odds and historical context
Weston is priced at 11/1 with bet365 to claim the SPOTY award in December, with only Amy Hunt (5/6), Josh Kerr (10/3) and Harry Kane (7/2) ahead of him. Jude Bellingham (14/1) and Saffie Osborne (33/1) complete the top six.
If Weston came out on top, he would become the first Winter Olympian to win SPOTY since ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, following their iconic gold-winning performance at the Sarajevo Games in 1984.
While he feels he has support from the British public heading into SPOTY, he believes the timing of winning the gold medals won't do him "any favours". He said: "I think the only thing that doesn't do me any favours is that the Olympics was in February and Sports Personality of the Year is in December. So I'm almost as far away as you can be from Sports Personality of the Year, from my achievements."
From quitting to world champion
Weston's double-gold medal haul was even more remarkable given that just four years before, he finished 15th in the individual skeleton event at the Beijing Winter Olympics and thought about quitting the sport. He bounced back to win gold at the World Championships in 2023 and 2025, as well as gold at the European Championships in 2023.
Weston sought help from a psychologist after his disappointment in Beijing and a string of long-term injuries. He said: "I mean, the team, there's certain members of the team that were really there for me, as well as I think in the past few years I've worked with psychologists as well. I've worked with two currently. One's a sports psych and one's a clinical psych."
Weston has also revealed that he does "like the idea" of becoming Team GB's outright most successful Winter Olympian, having tied with Yarnold on two gold medals. He said: "I quite like the idea of being Britain's outright most successful [Winter Olympian]. So that is something that definitely is playing on my mind, but at the moment I'm kind of focusing on getting my body fixed, as well as spending time with family, friends and my new wife as well."
Having married his wife Alex, Weston has spent the last couple of months on the treatment table, having had surgeries on his shoulder and his hip. After recovering, he is now focused on the winter season and getting back to competing following his heroics in Milano Cortina.
