Olympic goldrush kick-starts interest in skeleton

Tabby Stoecker (left) and Matt Weston stand with one arm around each other and the other in the air pointing their index fingers. They are both wearing Team GB kit and Winter Olympic gold medals around their necks. There are snow-capped moutains in the backgroundPA Media

Tabitha Stoecker and Matt Weston continued Britain's long Winter Olympics success in the skeleton this year

Sophie HurcomBBC Sport England and Jack KillahBBC Radio Somerset

When Matt Weston and Tabitha Stoecker made history at the Winter Olympics, winning three gold medals between them in the skeleton, neither knew their success would kick-start a surge of interest in the sport never before seen in Great Britain.

In the months during and after the Games, more than 7,000 people have signed up for a talent identification campaign launched by the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association (BBSA) to find future stars for the two sports.

On the two days alone that Weston and Stoecker won gold in the men's and the team event, around 2,400 people signed up - 1,200 each day.

For a country that does not even have an ice track for athletes to train on, the sport is now experiencing a a post-Games boom.

"Having those 7,000 applicants is actually quite a tangible thing for me to say, 'I know this is how much impact we've had on the nation'," Weston told BBC Somerset.

"It's definitely done wonders for the the profile of the sport and I can't wait to see where we go from here."