Team GB Winter Olympics star approached by Royal after smashing record | Other | Sport

Matt Weston was approached by Anne, Princess Royal, moments after he broke a course record in the skeleton at the Winter Olympics. Despite making a minor error early on, the reigning world champion finished at the Cortina d’Ampezzo in just 56.21, to set a new fastest time.

To show how tight the first heat was, Germany’s Axel Jungk lagged by just six-hundredths of a second, while Weston’s Team GB team-mate, Marcus Wyatt, finished seventh at an agonising 0.31 seconds slower. While Weston was the talk of Milan for his emphatic efforts, it was a greeting by a royal family member in the aftermath which caught the attention of fans watching worldwide, when the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II was spotted speaking with him. Speaking about the incident, Lizzy Yarnold said: “I was wondering whether he was going to bow as soon as he came off the skeleton run.

“What an honour to meet Princess Anne, she’s such a fan of sport as well, so I’m really glad to see that she’s there. You are living within a bubble within the Olympic environment in the village, so you can choose almost to just tune into yourself and the track and the purity of it. It’s just numbers, it’s just a track, do the best you can.”

With two World Championships and as many European golds to his name, as well as making history on the World Cup circuit, Weston will hope to add an Olympic medal to his glistening resume at this year’s games across Milan and Cortina. And while the 28-year-old has acknowledged the internal pressure that comes with the sport, he holds confidence that he will walk away from the Winter Games with a podium place.

Speaking on Team GB’s official website, he said: “There’s a bit more pressure, but I think after the past few seasons I’ve had, there’s a little bit more confidence as well coming into it. It’s been like that for the past few years, not necessarily external pressure but internal.

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“I’m going there for one reason, one reason only, and that’s to win. So it’s kind of the same for me here. At the moment, I’m just really enjoying myself. I’m having a good time.

“Standing on the podium, it’s the goal. It’s the biggest thing in the world you can get in a sport. To win the Olympic gold medal would mean everything to me, but it also would mean a lot to my team, my family, my fiancée. Everyone that’s been at home and supported me, that’s pushed me through the tougher times. It would mean a lot for those guys as well.”

It comes as the men’s skeleton was rocked on Thursday, when the news broke that Vladyslav Heraskevych had seen his accreditation stripped at the 2026 Winter Olympics for refusing to back down on wearing a helmet which honoured Ukrainians killed in their ongoing war with Russia.

The International Olympic Committee had told the Ukrainian that he wouldn’t be able to use his ‘helmet of remembrance’ in future sessions, nor for competition, after he was spotted using it during a training session – instead offering him the chance to wear a black armband. When Heraskevych remained insistent on his choice of attire, the IOC made the decision to prevent him from participating in Thursday’s event.

A statement on the matter read: “Having been given one final opportunity, skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych from Ukraine will not be able to start his race at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games this morning. The decision followed his refusal to comply with the IOC’s Guidelines on Athlete Expression.”

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