Weston gets his 1st Olympic skeleton gold medal, in race where Heraskevych was DQ'ed before start

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Matt Weston doesn't always win. It only seems that way.

And at the Milan Cortina Olympics, the 28-year-old slider from Britain left no doubt — he's the best skeleton racer in the world.

Capping a four-year run that featured one remarkable finish after another, Weston won the men's skeleton gold medal on a frosty Friday night in Cortina d'Ampezzo. He finished four runs over two days in 3 minutes, 43.33 seconds, posting a track-record time in all four of those heats and building an almost-insurmountable lead going into a final slide that became a victory lap.

He broke into tears when it was over, then hugged one of his coaches — Latvian great Martins Dukurs, the 2014 Olympic champion. Dukurs was long considered the world's best; that title now belongs to Weston.

“I expect every time I stand at the top of the start line, I’m going there for one reason and one reason only," Weston said. "And that’s to win.”

Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the event before it started because of his insistence on wearing a helmet that paid tribute to more than 20 coaches and athletes from his country who were killed following Russia’s invasion four years ago. Heraskevych got the ruling that he couldn’t race Thursday, about 45 minutes before the start of the competition, then had his appeal denied by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after a hearing in Milan on Friday.

Had he raced, Heraskevych might have been a medal contender. But beating Weston would have been an extremely tall task.

Germany got silver and bronze, with Axel Jungk and Christopher Grotheer now two-time Olympic medalists. Jungk, the silver medalist in 2022, was second again in 3:44.21; Grotheer, the gold medalist four years ago, was third in 3:44.40.

For the U.S., Austin Florian was 12th and Dan Barefoot was 20th. Florian will race for the U.S. in the mixed skeleton event on Sunday; he and Mystique Ro are the reigning world champions in that competition.

Weston was 15th at the 2022 Beijing Olympics — and has been the dominant force in men's skeleton ever since. Before this week, he had 34 races at the World Cup or world championship level since those Beijing Games.

He medaled in 28 of them, winning 15 times. Put another way, he has been no worse than third in 82% of those races and finished first 54% of the time.

It's absolute dominance.

“I think I’m a massive perfectionist," Weston said. “That kind of manifests itself in a lot of ways in my life. But in skeleton, sometimes when I win, I’m annoyed because I haven’t won correctly.”

There was nothing not to like about this one. He's a three-time World Cup champion, a two-time world champion and now, Olympic champion.

Weston becomes Britain's third skeleton gold medalist: Amy Williams won at the 2010 Vancouver Games, then Lizzy Yarnold went back-to-back in 2014 and 2018.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Germany's Axel Jungk arrives at the finish during a men's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

United States' Austin Florian arrives at the finish during a men's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

United States' Austin Florian reacts as he arrives at the finish during a men's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Britain's gold medalist Matt Weston celebrates as he arrives at the finish during a men's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Britain's gold medalist Matt Weston celebrates as he arrives at the finish during a men's skeleton run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 31 points, Mitchell Robinson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the New York Knicks routed the Chicago Bulls 136-96 on Friday night in a game they led by 47 points.

Anunoby was 9 for 15 from the field, including 7 for 10 from 3-point range, and Robinson made each of his seven shots starting in place of All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, who did not play because of a right elbow impingement.

All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson had 17 points and 10 assists to help the Knicks win their second consecutive game after dropping three in a row.

For New York (50-28), the blowout victory cemented its third consecutive season with at least 50 wins — a feat the club had not accomplished since the 1991-92 to 1993-94 campaigns. The Knicks lost the 1994 NBA Finals to Houston and were able to surpass the 50-win plateau the following season.

Collin Sexton had 19 points for the Bulls. They have lost their last six games and 10 of 12.

New York led 38-16 at the end of the first quarter by taking advantage of Chicago’s offensive struggles as they went on an 18-0 run before Sexton’s 3-pointer cut the Bulls’ deficit to 20-4 with 5:25 remaining in the period. Chicago missed 10 shots and had five turnovers during the woeful stretch.

New York’s offense overwhelmed the Bulls by outscoring them 40-25 in the second quarter to lead 78-41 at the break.

Bulls: Host Phoenix on Sunday night.

Knicks: At Atlanta on Monday night.

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

Chicago Bulls guard Collin Sexton (2) drives to the basket past New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) drives to the basket past New York Knicks forward Jeremy Sochan (20) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Chicago Bulls guard Tre Jones (30) drives to the basket past New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) and New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) gestures after scoring a three point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) and teammate Josh Hart (3) high-five during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)