Records tumble in Sigulda as Martins Dukurs takes victory and GB's Marcus Wyatt wins historic bronze
BySportsbeat
Updated 27/11/2020 at 19:29 GMT
Dukurs Jr beat brother Tomass to gold while Wyatt became the first British man on a skeleton World Cup podium for seven years. Wyatt produced two impressive runs, one of which dipped under 50 seconds, and they were enough to lift him from sixth to third, overhauling Nikita Tregubov, Alexander Gassner and Felix Keisinger in the process.
Martins Dukurs of Latvia takes a corner
Image credit: Getty Images
Home favourite Martins Dukurs made yet more history by claiming victory in Sigulda, while Marcus Wyatt won Great Britain's first men's skeleton World Cup medal in seven years with a brilliant bronze.
Janine Flock had broken her own track record twice earlier in the day and Dukurs emulated her heroics with a searing performance in Sigulda.
Dukurs, 36, was the only man to have broken the 50s barrier heading into the event but his record was lowered multiple times on a wild day of action on his home ice.
Germany's Christopher Grotheer was the first man to break the old record as his first run of 49.79s beat Dukurs' previous best by 0.15s.
But Grotheer's record lasted just four sleds as Tomass Dukurs, Martins' older brother, stopped the clock in 49.55s to continue the drama in Latvia.
Dukurs Jr was having none of it, however, promptly gliding down the track with yet another record time to cross the line in 49.46s and reclaim his record in style.
That gave the Latvian the lead after the first run but he was far from finished there, as another stunning effort of 49.45s lowered the track record once again and fired him to a 56th gold medal of his career.
Tomass Dukurs was second 0.19s behind, while GB's Wyatt claimed his first ever World Cup medal with a brilliant third-placed finish.
Wyatt, who ended eighth in last year's World Cup standings, completed impressive runs of 50.03s and 49.82s to cap a memorable day and become the first British man on a World Cup podium since Dom Parsons in 2013.
The 28-year-old's previous best World Cup finish was fourth in Igls earlier this year, but his speedy second run hauled him up from sixth to seize a podium place from Nikita Tregubov, Alexander Gassner and Felix Keisinger.
Parsons went on to scoop Winter Olympic bronze but Wyatt admits it's a World Cup gold that's next on his agenda.
"The plan is to now to push on. This is a big step so now let's go and chase a gold for the rest of the season," he said.
"I can't stop saying how crazy it is - it's something I've always dreamt of.
"I'm a bit speechless really. To be on the podium with the Dukurs brothers is pretty special. We've got a great group here and I can't thank the team enough for helping me get to this point."
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