Balding stops BBC coverage as Winter Olympic gold medallist in tears | Other | Sport

Clare Balding was forced to momentarily pause the BBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics, as Lizzy Yarnold was reduced to tears by Matt Weston. The Team GB athlete became not only the first man to win a gold medal in the skeleton on Friday evening, but also clinched his nation’s first gold since the women’s curling at the 2022 games in Beijing.

Weston secured victory in 55.61 seconds with an overall winning time of 3:43.33 – his winning time coming +0.88 faster than second-placed Axel Jungk of Germany. The 28-year-old was also emotional as he spoke about what the achievement meant to him. He told BBC Sport: “It means everything.

“It means a hell of a lot to me personally, I’ve worked so hard for this. But everyone back home – my fiance, my family, my friends, everyone who has sacrificed everything for this. I’ve missed funerals, birthdays, everything for this moment. It feels amazing.”

A two-time Olympic skeleton champion herself, Yarnold said about Weston: “Every single one of the four runs were absolute perfection.

“Incredibly impressive from Matt Weston. What stands out for me is each and every time Matt Weston stood at the start block he was looking down the track, he excelled, he accelerated, he was so focused. I really can’t find the words to describe how incredibly impressed I am with his performance.”

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Shortly after speaking, however, Yarnold broke down in tears herself and put her hands over her face. Balding then stepped in to take over presenting while Yarnold collected herself.

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