Earlier this year, Marcus Wyatt won his first World Championships medal, winning Silver in the Men’s Skeleton at Lake Placid in March, and he also won Silver in the Men’s Skeleton at the 2025 IBSF European Championships in February in Lillehammer, Norway. For the 2024-25 Skeleton World Cup season, Marcus finished 2nd overall, having won Gold in Sigulda, Silver in Pyeongchang and Bronze in Altenberg and Lillehammer, and also competing in the Mixed Team events, Marcus won Gold in Altenberg with Tabitha Stoecker and at Lillehammer with Amelia Coltman. Marcus became the European champion at the 2024 IBSF European Championships, and he made his Olympic debut with Team GB at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Currently, Marcus is in summer training, getting ready for the Olympic season starting in October, and he will be competing in seven races before the Milano Cortina Olympic Games in February. We found out from Marcus about winning Silver this year at the IBSF World Championships and European Championships, finishing 2nd overall in the 2024/25 Skeleton World Cup season, his Mixed Team Gold medals with Tabitha Stoecker and Amelia Coltman, becoming European champion in 2024 and making his Olympic debut in 2022.
At the 2025 IBSF World Championships in Lake Placid in March, you won Silver in the Men’s Skeleton, can you tell us about your time competing in Lake Placid and what was it like coming away with a World Championships medal for the first time?
Lake Placid was a great competition and I was over the moon to come away with my first World Champs medal and to complete a GB 1-2. A medal at World Champs was one of the last things missing from my career and it felt a bit different going into the race really believing I was capable to win a medal. Lake Placid has always been a track I’ve enjoyed and had some good results at in my career so I went in feeling a bit of pressure but sometimes that bit of pressure can help you perform at your best.
You also won Silver in the Men’s Skeleton at the 2025 IBSF European Championships in February in Lillehammer in Norway, how was it competing at this year’s European Championships?
I really enjoy competing in Lillehammer in Norway every time I go there, as it was the first track I ever went down so it has a special place in my heart. It’s not a track that has been used a lot in competition recently so it was only the second time I have ever competed there. Despite finishing second and that meaning I lost my European title I had won the year before, I was really happy with how I performed in the competition and it was a very close race and that’s what you want, unfortunately it just wasn’t quite my day.
Having finished 2nd overall in the 2024-25 Skeleton World Cup (winning individual Gold in Sigulda, Silver in Pyeongchang and Bronze in Altenberg and Lillehammer), what is it like racing in the World Cup season and how do you stay focused during the different events?
The World Cup seasons are long, normally starting in November and finishing around mid-February, and take us across the globe so it can be hard during periods where you might not race for a few weeks and feel a bit rusty, but on the flipside there are periods where you may race four weeks on the bounce and have to drive six plus hours the day after the race to the next location. So it can be tough but it’s never boring. For me personally, it’s important to try and go with the flow, stay relaxed and not get too stressed by whatever situation we find ourselves in. I try hard not to worry about the uncontrollables and I know if I start trying to do this, it is a sign of stress and a reminder to maybe have a chat with my team as to what’s going on either on or off the track.
In terms of staying focused, I actually think the ability to switch off is really important, on a raceday we can spend over five hours at the track and it isn’t possible to be in the zone for this long so being able to switch off but then come back into a state of focus for shorter periods is crucial and helps stop burnout.
How different do you find competing individually opposed to in a Mixed Team event and how was it racing and winning Gold in Altenberg with Tabitha Stoecker and Lillehammer with Amelia Coltman?
The team events are relatively new and produce a fun new element we didn’t have before in terms of bringing a team element to Skeleton races. The atmosphere is maybe a tiny bit more relaxed and fun due to this still being a bit of a novelty, but I think come the Olympics when there are medals on the line, athletes will take it as seriously as the individual races.
In terms of how I go about competing in these, it’s much the same as an individual race in that I just focus on what I can do and bringing my best performance and if we do well then that’s awesome because it means both of us have performed well! It’s also a really nice experience then to stand on a podium with a teammate!
How did you feel becoming the European champion in Sigulda at the 2024 IBSF European Championships and what was it like collecting your medal?
Winning the European Championships was such an incredible experience, it was quite a pressured environment as before the race I knew I was capable of winning it and almost expected myself to. Because of this, I actually put a lot of pressure on myself to win for the first time in my career and that was a new experience. But Sigulda is one of the hardest tracks in the world so you never know what can happen there, fortunately it is also one of my favourite tracks so I really enjoy competing there. That being said, when I crossed the line and saw I had won, it was a dream come true, to have a first major championship and know no one can ever take that result or that feeling away is really special and a memory I will cherish forever.
You made your Olympic debut in 2022 at the Beijing Winter Olympics, how was it being selected for the British skeleton team and what was it like representing Team GB in Beijing?
Being selected for the Olympics was one of the proudest days of my life and a dream come true that truthfully I never believed could happen after the age of about 14 until this amazing opportunity to join the GB Skeleton team came about age 23. Getting my Team GB kit with the Olympic rings on, being part of that amazing team and getting to walk into the Bird’s Nest Stadium for the opening ceremony are some of my favourite memories and all things I still think about now and will never forget.
How did you find the experience racing at the Xiaohaituo Bobsleigh and Luge Track, and what was it like competing at a Winter Olympics during the coronavirus pandemic restrictions?
Unfortunately, the racing didn’t go to plan, we took a gamble on equipment that didn’t pay off and it meant that it felt like we were competing with one arm behind our back so we couldn’t show our true potential and were never in medal contention.
The coronavirus restrictions at the time, especially for China, were really strict, we were incredibly nervous about catching COVID in the build-up and missing races that would affect qualification or even catching it and missing the Olympics entirely. Once we were in the Olympic village, we were PCR tested every day and had the normal social distancing and mask wearing rules we had become used to in the rest of the world. It is quite strange to look back at, but I think to be part of a COVID Olympics, like those that went to Tokyo, is very unique and has a lot of different experiences to talk about in the future than a normal Olympics!
How was it staying in the athletes village and attending the opening/closing ceremonies?
The opening ceremony was unbelievable. Waiting to walk out into the stadium you are queuing in the bowls of the stadium then suddenly you turn a corner, go down a ramp and are hit by all the noise, lights, mayhem and magic of the opening ceremony, it’s a snapshot that is seared into my brain and possibly the clearest thing I remember from the whole Olympic experience.
The athletes village was really cool to explore and see so many athletes from around the world in one place all training and living at the same time. The Olympic Games is the only time we really travel as part of a multi-sport event, we are normally just at competitions for skeleton and bobsleigh so it’s a great experience to be around other sports and people we wouldn’t normally meet.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to stay for the closing ceremony partially due to the COVID restrictions, so that’s definitely something I’d like to do in Cortina if possible.
What are some of your favourite highlights of your sporting career so far and can you say about some of your further competitions?
I’ve been lucky enough to be doing this sport for a long time so have been able to have quite a few highlights, most of which I have already mentioned above like winning Europeans, coming second at World Champs this year as part of a GB 1-2 and competing at an Olympics.
Outside of those, I also include my first World Cup race win at my favourite track and the fastest track in the world in Whister – Vancouver in 2022, but also doing my first-ever international race in Lake Placid back in 2016 and finishing 5th.
How did you originally get into skeleton and was it always something you wanted to do at a high level?
I actually only applied to join the skeleton team after seeing Lizzy Yarnold win Gold for GB at the Olympics in Sochi in 2014. During the TV coverage, they mentioned how GB were hosting trials for athletes from other sports to try out for the team. I had had no experience in skeleton but had a background in football and had always been one of the fastest players and this is the kind of trait they were looking for as it transfers well to the sprint start in skeleton. At the time, I was actually in my final year of university and playing American football and after applying I took part in 10 months of trials which culminated in trying skeleton for the first time and eventually being selected onto the team.
Do you have a favourite aspect of competing for Team GB and racing in skeleton competitions around the world?
I love representing my country and being able to travel around the world, that was always a dream of mine as a child to compete for GB but I have also always been super competitive and love the aspect of racing and testing myself against others. That also helps me in training as it doesn’t matter whether it’s sprinting, or gym or even fitness, I want to win but then so do most of my teammates so it can be quite a competitive environment.
What does a typical training day look like for you and how does it change in the lead-up to major competitions?
In summer, we do physical training five or six days a week, normally two sessions a day so it ends up being similar hours to a full-time job most days. In the winter, we still train, but not quite as much as we have to balance in competitions and training runs down the track, which are very physical themselves with speeds of up to 90mph and 5G on your body in some of the corners.
In the build-up to a competition, we only get six runs down the track before the race so you have to make the most of each run. We will reduce the gym sessions a little bit before races but not loads. Sometimes we find ourselves celebrating a win or a top 3 with a gym session after the race instead of the party people would expect!
How do you like to spend your time away from sports?
Away from sport, I really enjoying cooking. Food is such a big part of an athlete’s life in terms of eating healthy, getting enough protein and, over time, I’ve found more and more enjoyment from it. I find turning a handful of ingredients into a healthy meal that tastes good really rewarding and my naturally competitive nature means that I’m always wanting to improve and make better and better food. I also dabble with bit of motorsport sim racing online, I love motor racing and that’s the closest I can get to doing it in real life.
Do you have any favourite sports to watch and were there any sports competitors that inspired you when growing up?
I am completely sports mad and have been ever since I was a child. The main sports I follow currently are NFL, F1 and Football but I will happily sit down and watch anything from cricket to squash to snooker. One of my heroes growing up was Michael Schumacher, I loved his passion and drive to be the best alongside his amazing natural ability and how he always seemed to bring his best when it really mattered most.
What advice would you give someone hoping to get into skeleton/winter sports and aiming for a future Winter Olympics?
My advice for most people in general is never give up, at age 16 I thought I would never make it as a professional athlete so I went to university and got a degree. Then out of the blue this opportunity arose to apply and trial for skeleton and I jumped at it. It’s certainly not a traditional path for a sportsperson but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. This system of talent transfer is the basis of Britain’s success in skeleton – taking athletes who didn’t quite make it in other sports and seeing the ability they still have. So I say to people: never give up on your dream whether it’s sport or not because you really don’t know when or where an opportunity will present itself.
Do you have any competitions coming up that you can tell us about or that you are targeting?
We are currently busy in our summer training getting ready for the Olympic season which starts in October. We will have seven races before the Olympics in February which all count towards qualification for the Milano Cortina Olympic Games. These races are all incredibly important as you need to do well in order to qualify for the Olympics but, of course, the absolute main focus of this season and my career is winning Gold at the Olympics in Cortina in February.
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