From Lake Placid, USA
(December 16, 2022) – On what was one of the snowiest days in recent Lake Placid sliding history, Matt Weston edged out Olympic gold medalist to win his second career gold medal.
Weston edged out teammate Marcus Wyatt in the first heat, with South Korea’s Seunggi Jung and Jisoo Kim, as well as Germany’s Grotheer all in the medal hunt.
On the second run Grotheer cleaned what was an otherwise not-too-bad first run to set the quick downtime of the second heat. Kim and Jung both were unable to answer, with Kim eventually falling out the top six.
Marcus Wyatt’s second run was not bad, but he couldn’t match his first run pace and eventaully finished just behind Jung.
That left Weston, who was looking for a gold medal in his first visit to Lake Placid. Weston’s second run was only the fourth quickest, but he had carried a .45 second advantage over Grotheer into the second heat, and that cushion plus a steady slide was enough to give the Brit his second gold medal and fourth medal overall.
“It’s my first time to the track, the first couple days were tough trying to properly learn the track and get into the flow of it. But one of my strengths I think is that I can show up to a track and pick it up quickly,” Weston said of his day. “I’m really pleased to finish 2022 off with a win!”
Grotheer took silver, edging out Jung for bronze.
Wyatt finished fourth, with Axel Jungk fifth, and USA’s Austin Florian sixth.
Andrew Blaser finished 13th on the second American sled, while Canada’s Blake Enzie and Kyle Donsberger finished 17th and 18th respectively.
At the Christmas break, Seunggi Jung holds a one point advantage over Christopher Grotheer, with Marcus Wyatt only three points out of the lead. Axel Jungk, Felix Keisinger, and Matt Weston round out the top six, with Austin Florian in seventh.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Matt Weston | GBR | 6 | 4.77 | 4.74 | 53.74 | 54.42 | 1:48.16 |
| 2 | Christopher Grotheer | GER | 5 | 4.89 | 4.87 | 54.19 | 54.13 | 1:48.32 |
| 3 | Seunggi Jung | KOR | 7 | 4.87 | 4.86 | 54.11 | 54.29 | 1:48.40 |
| 4 | Marcus Wyatt | GBR | 13 | 4.76 | 4.80 | 54.02 | 54.54 | 1:48.56 |
| 5 | Axel Jungk | GER | 10 | 4.90 | 4.89 | 54.19 | 54.47 | 1:48.66 |
| 6 | Austin Florian | USA | 8 | 4.78 | 4.78 | 54.38 | 54.31 | 1:48.69 |
| 7 | Jisoo Kim | KOR | 12 | 4.77 | 4.77 | 54.13 | 54.63 | 1:48.76 |
| 8 | Felix Keisinger | GER | 11 | 4.80 | 4.79 | 54.41 | 54.68 | 1:49.09 |
| 9 | Zheng Yin | CHN | 3 | 4.81 | 4.78 | 54.20 | 54.93 | 1:49.13 |
| 10 | Wenhao Chen | CHN | 1 | 4.92 | 4.97 | 54.47 | 54.72 | 1:49.19 |
| 11 | Vladyslav Heraskevych | UKR | 14 | 5.08 | 5.09 | 54.58 | 54.78 | 1:49.36 |
| 12 | Wengang Yan | CHN | 17 | 4.93 | 5.96 | 54.68 | 54.74 | 1:49.42 |
| 13 | Andrew Blaser | USA | 15 | 5.02 | 4.99 | 54.83 | 55.08 | 1:49.91 |
| 14 | Florian Auer | AUT | 4 | 5.09 | 5.08 | 54.84 | 55.38 | 1:50.22 |
| 15 | Laurence Bostock | GBR | 2 | 4.78 | 4.84 | 55.17 | 55.17 | 1:50.34 |
| 16 | Alexander Schlintner | AUT | 16 | 5.01 | 4.97 | 55.14 | 55.50 | 1:50.64 |
| 17 | Blake Enzie | CAN | 9 | 5.02 | 5.08 | 56.46 | 55.20 | 1:15.66 |
| 18 | Kyle Donsberger | CAN | 18 | 5.06 | 5.09 | 56.12 | 55.77 | 1:51.89 |
