On Valentine’s Day in 2014, British skeleton athlete Lizzy Yarnold captured the hearts of millions as she raced down Sochi’s ice track towards her first Olympic title.
One of those captivated audience members was Swansea University student Marcus Wyatt.
At the time, Wyatt played American football for Swansea Titans whilst studying for his psychology degree and explained that he decided to the pursue skeleton after hearing new athletes were being sought after.
Fast-forward 11 years and that very same Marcus Wyatt is now a World Championship silver medallist after his exploits in Lake Placid, USA.
“During the coverage [of Lizzie Yarnold winning gold in 2014] the commentators mentioned they [UK Sport] were looking at new athletes to come and apply if you were from a speed or power-based sport,” said Wyatt. “And I thought ‘yeah, that is a bit of me, let's give that a go’.
“The trial phase lasted around ten months, and I tried the sport for the first time in the December and made it onto the team and here I am just over 10 years later.
“Speed was my asset in any sport I did and that transfers well to the start when you are pushing off. The faster you can start, the more of a boost it gives you over the opposition.
“Playing American football, you take some big hits so I can take a little bit of pain, you need to be able to when you could hit icy walls at 80 to 90mph!
“Also, American football was a new to me when I took it up and I like learning new sports, so I was not put off [taking up skeleton] by being a complete novice.”
Wyatt is now gearing up for what promises to be a mouth-watering battle for Winter Olympic skeleton gold with current world champion, fellow Briton and friend Matt Weston.
Read more: How Matt Weston stays calm while hurtling down the ice
But the former American football player, who took overall World Cup silver this season and won gold at the 2024 European Championships, admitted he sees Weston firmly as a teammate who can help him improve his performance as opposed to a rival.
“It is strange, but we are very good at keeping racing separate to our friendship,” said Wyatt. “We are a team. We do not have our own track, so we have to share all the information we pick up.
“We only get to do between 100 and 150 runs per year so if I can talk to Matt and learn from his runs, suddenly I have doubled my exposure to the sport, and you learn so much quicker.
“Ultimately, we are rivals on the track, but we are trying to make each other better.
“And at the end of the day, I cannot affect him on race day and vice versa. It is you versus the clock.
“So, if I have a great run and I beat Matt, he is the first one to congratulate me and he knows that I just did a better job than him. There are no hard feelings, you just congratulate the other person and be like ‘I will try and get you next week’.
“We have a great team environment. It is a close-knit group, and that positivity has helped breed success.”
With less than a year to go until Milano-Cortina, Wyatt is confident with the progress he has made over the past three years since his 16th-place finish at Beijing in his debut Games in 2022.
The 33-year-old will be a medal contender in Italy and said he would fancy his chances if the “Olympics were tomorrow”.
“We went to Beijing, and I felt confident, but we went there with some new equipment, and it did not work out and we could not find our best form,” said Wyatt.
“But ultimately, that kick-started this four-year cycle and you learn so much more when things go badly.
“I have felt with these four years, I have built and built from that first year to now and I have grown as an athlete.
“I have not massively upped my level, but I have made steady progress in the right direction as I build towards [Milano-]Cortina.
“It has been a really strong season for me. I know I can compete with anyone and if the Olympics were tomorrow, I would be really confident.
“So, with another year to go, there are a couple of extra bits to work on, but we are in a really good place.”
Away from the track, Wyatt knows the importance of switching off from the sport but likes to keep his mind active in different ways. Over the past two years, he has been learning German to aid when training in the country and because he also admires those who are bilingual.
“You need your downtime with this sport, and I have realised that over the last couple of years,” added Wyatt.
“I like to keep my brain busy so to have something else I can focus on [learning German] and see progress with is enjoyable.
“We use three tracks in Germany, and we spend at least a month of the year there. I am around so many athletes who are fluent in their natural language and English which is a cool thing.
“It is a good skill to have, and I want to get to the point where I am competent one day.”
Sportsbeat 2025