Skeleton is one of the most dramatic sports on the Winter Olympics schedule. Lying head-first on a sled, competitors race down an ice track at hair-raising speeds.
Experience extreme G-force and risking serious injury, skeleton athletes require a mix of skill and bravery. The 2026 edition sees a pair of Brits, Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt, as the pre-tournament sports betting favourites.
Great Britain are looking for only their fourth medal in the men’s skeleton, having picked up bronzes in 1928, 1948, and 2018. The United States are the most successful country in the event, with five total medals, including golds in 1928 and 1948. Canada have also won two golds.
Germany enter with a couple of serious contenders in the form of Christopher Grotheer and Axel Jungk. The pair landed gold and silver four years ago, representing Germany’s first two podium appearances in skeleton.
Recent Success
Since the last Olympics, Weston has been named world champion in 2023 and 2025. In 2024, he was runner-up to Grotheer, who is a three-time world champion. Wyatt was runner-up in the 2025 World Championship in Lake Placid.
It’s been all about the British duo in recent years. Weston has won the World Cup in three straight years. Wyatt has been in the mix, too. Neither finished in the top 14 at the last Winter Olympics, however.
A remarkable turnaround for British skeleton athletes followed. Great Britain are competing on multiple fronts in Milan, with it seeming inevitable Weston and/or Wyatt win a medal.
Speaking in the build-up to the Games, Weston said, "To be on top of the podium would mean a hell of a lot for me individually but it goes to show the strength and resilience of the whole team.
"The turnaround from Beijing has been absolutely insane and that's only down to the people that we've been working around.
"Individually we've changed and made sure we're in the best position but the whole team and whole squad have put in all the work to be able to get us there and hopefully be able to perform."
The challenge of having a compatriot at the top of their game has brought the best out of both competitors.
Weston continued, "That's the reason why we are neck-and-neck and battling for one and two rather than six and seven - because we work so well together.
"When Marcus is firing on all cylinders and sliding his best, it pushes me to be even better and the same vice versa."
Skeleton Odds
- Matt Weston – 1/2
- Marcus Wyatt – 9/2
- Christopher Grotheer – 8/1
- Samuel Maier – 10/1
- Axel Jungk – 11/1
- Zheng Yin – 12/1
- Amedeo Bagnis – 25/1
- Seung-gi Jung – 25/1
Previous Medallists
- 2022 – Gold: Christopher Grotheer, Silver: Axel Jungk, Bronze: Yan Wengang
- 2018 – Gold: Yun Sung-bin, Silver: Nikita Tregubov, Bronze: Dominic Parsons
- 2014 – Gold: Aleksandr Tretyakov, Silver: Martins Dukurs, Bronze: Matthew Antoine
- 2010 – Gold: Jon Montgomery, Silver: Martins Dukurs, Bronze: Aleksandr Tretyakov
- 2006 – Gold: Duff Gibson, Silver: Jeff Pain, Bronze: Gregor Stahli
- 2002 – Gold: Jimmy Shea, Silver: Martin Rettle, Bronze: Gregor Stahli
