Matt Weston admitted big stage nerves as his Olympic campaign stuttered in Beijing.

Weston, from Tunbridge Wells, had high hopes for his Games debut after winning World Cup gold at Igls in November - tied with two other rivals - the first Brit to hit top step since 2008.

Team GB have won skeleton medal at every Games the sport has been involved, claiming seven podium places in the last five years, including three golds.

But Weston finished 15th at Yanqing National Sliding Centre, one place ahead of team-mate Marcus Wyatt, while 2018 bronze medallist Laura Deas and rookie Brogan Crowley were well off the pace in the women's competition.

“It’s disappointing, I’m not happy with where I finished and I think we can do a lot better as sliders," said Weston.

“But it’s one to go away and review - I can’t put my finger on why it went wrong at the moment but it’s one to review and we will come back stronger from.

"I didn’t slide very well. I think there were a lot of mistakes in my runs which cost me a lot of time, so that’s definitely one.

“It’s going to be a different combination of things, including set-up and the processes we went through. It’s a combination of everything."

Four years ago Dom Parsons won bronze in PyeongChang, despite being ranked outside the world's top ten and Weston, 24, hoped he could follow his lead. However, Parsons won his medal at his second Games, aged 30.

“I can’t lie, on my first run I was a bit more nervous than normal but I definitely settled down into the competition after that," added Weston.

“You are racing against the same people week in week out in the World Cup and here. So, once you get into the flow of it, it’s like a normal race.

“I think we’ve probably found what the mood is going to be like, we’re not jumping around and cheering. We are certainly not where we want to be but at the same time we are trying to enjoy the whole experience and make the most of being at an Olympics.

“Now I can call myself an Olympian - that’s a lifelong dream, so it can't all be too bad.”

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