Matt Weston and Tabitha Stoecker: How pair’s success has fuelled a skeleton surge

Weston and Stoecker are both examples of how successful talent spotting programmes can be.

Both came to skeleton via a UK Sport campaign called ‘Discover Your Gold’, which saw potential athletes assessed for a range of sports and allocated to the one they were most suited to.

Weston previously competed as a weightlifter and was advised to apply by his coach, while Stoecker saw an advert on Instagram while working as a circus performer.

But what makes the applicants from this year different is that they were registering interest in a scheme specific to skeleton and bobsleigh, rather than one working across a wide range of sports.

Testing sessions have already begun with around 1,600 of those 7,000 invited to take part. To put that into context, the BBSA’s pre-Games target hoped 1,000 people would apply, let alone make it past the first stage.

“The sport, it’s quite niche, we don’t get a lot of exposure at times outside of the Games so for us to have capitalised on that moment so well, it’s going to have a huge impact in the future of our sport,” Stoecker said.

“It just goes to show that if you can see it, you can believe it. It opens a door for people to know that there’s this path out there for them to go and do this amazing, exciting winter sport that you don’t really get to see that much in the UK.

“For me and Matt to know that we were pivotal in creating that moment for people to really see something new and envision themselves in our position – it’s absolutely fantastic.”