Britain's Matt Weston finishes a dominant run to the men's skeleton world title in Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Matt Weston finished 15th in men's skeleton at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, something he considered wildly disappointing.

He's been the best in the world ever since.

The 28-year-old from Britain is the world champion once again — and just like his first world title two years ago, this one came in blowout fashion, the sort of dominant performance that will make him the favorite for gold headed into the Olympic season.

Weston completed his four-run slate down the Mount Van Hoevenberg track — possibly the one that’ll play host to next year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics — on Friday in 3 minutes, 35.48 seconds. His winning margin of 1.90 seconds was the second-largest in a men’s world championships since skeleton was restored to the Olympic program about a quarter-century ago.

“Pretty amazing, to be honest,” Weston said. “I think to have two titles to my name is pretty amazing. And to be fair, for both of them to be such massive wins, I was not expecting that.”

The biggest win in a men’s skeleton world championship since the sport returned to the Olympic program was by 2.08 seconds, that coming at Lake Placid in 2012 by Latvia’s Martins Dukurs — now a coach in the British program.

The second-biggest win, until Friday, was Weston’s 1.79-second victory at St. Moritz, Switzerland, two years ago. That was a rout. This was even more one-sided. Meet your favorite for gold in 2026, whether the race will be in the Italian Alps or the Adirondack Mountains.

“I’ve already been thinking about it for the past, like, four years. As soon as we got off the plane from Beijing, the targets were set for Milan, and everything we’ve won so far is just a step on the way to that," Weston said. "So, I’m excited for the big one. And I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do as a team.”

The team is looking pretty good right now.

Britain left Lake Placid with gold and silver, after Marcus Wyatt finished second in 3:37.38 — marking only the second time in the last 26 men's skeleton world championship races that sliders from one nation took the top two spots. Germany took all three spots in the 2020 world title race.

“Sorry, most of this is just going to be me being speechless. I don’t know if that comes across very well on print media, but yeah, unbelievable," Wyatt said. “We knew we could do it.”

Germany’s Axel Jungk got the bronze in 3:37.41. Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych was fourth, missing a medal by 0.08 seconds — but still securing the best finish in his country's skeleton history.

“It's the best result in my career,” said Heraskevych, draped in a Ukrainian flag signed by soldiers who represented their country in the Invictus Games. “It's an amazing result, so close to the medal. I feel like we can do it. We are close. Let's see what's going on in the Olympic season.”

Zheng Yin of China was fifth and Austin Florian was the top American, placing sixth — one spot ahead of 2024 world champion Christopher Grotheer of Germany.

Weston becomes the fifth man to win the world title at least twice, joining Dukurs (a seven-time champion), Grotheer and Gregor Stahli of Switzerland (both three-time winners), and Ryan Davenport and Jeff Pain, both of Canada (both two-time winners).

Weston also won the overall World Cup title this season, his second consecutive year taking that crown.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-oly

Yaroslav Lavreniuk, of Ukraine, reacts after finishing his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Yaroslav Lavreniuk, of Ukraine, finishes his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Yaroslav Lavreniuk, of Ukraine, finishes his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Yaroslav Lavreniuk, of Ukraine, reacts after finishing his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Marcus Wyatt, of Britain, slides during his third run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Matt Weston, of Britain, reacts after finishing his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Matt Weston, of Britain, finishes his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Matt Weston, of Britain, reacts after finishing his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Matt Weston, of Britain, reacts after finishing his fourth run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Matt Weston, of Britain, slides during his third run at the skeleton world championships, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Matt Weston, of Britain, slides during his second run at the skeleton world championships, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Lake Placid, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by LeBron James and stole the ball from him on consecutive possessions in the final minute, and the Milwaukee Bucks blew a fourth-quarter lead before rallying for a 105-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points, and he hit two free throws to break a tie after Antetokounmpo blocked a driving layup attempt by James with 39 seconds left.

Antetokounmpo then knocked the ball out of James' hands from behind with 2 seconds left, and Porter hit two more free throws to seal Milwaukee's fifth win in seven games — its first over a team with a winning record since Dec. 11. Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points in his lowest-scoring effort since returning from his right calf strain.

Luka Doncic had 24 points and nine assists on 8-of-25 shooting for the Lakers. He had his lowest-scoring performance since Christmas, and he fouled out on Porter's 3-point attempt with 16.2 seconds to play.

James had 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, but Antetokoumpo got the best of the top scorer in NBA history at crunch time. Los Angeles has lost six of 10.

Milwaukee surged to a double-digit lead in the first half even with Antetokounmpo on a minutes restriction in his injury return. Doncic scored 12 points in the third quarter but also committed four fouls in the period, including his fifth of the game.

Los Angeles abruptly erased its deficit by going on a 17-4 run to open the fourth, with James putting the Lakers ahead when he stole the ball from Antetokounmpo for a layup with 6:02 left. Milwaukee missed nine of its first 12 shots in the period, but Porter's layup tied it with two minutes left.

Lakers starters Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura remain sidelined by injury, but Hachimura (calf) might return early next week from his six-game absence, coach JJ Redick said.

Bucks: At Denver on Sunday.

Lakers: At Sacramento on Monday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart, left, tries to shoot as Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, and Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. go after a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)