Freya Tarbit was devastated to miss out on an Olympic medal after being pipped to the podium by British teammates - but was left thrilled for mates Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker
The 25-year-old finished fourth alongside Marcus Wyatt in the mixed doubles and watched in agony as new British superhero Weston and best friend Stoecker won gold.
Tarbit was on course for bronze before Weston ripped it from her, leaving her empty-handed at the end of her first Olympics.
“It's such conflicting feelings,” she said. “We're so happy for Matt and Tabby and we've seen some of our closest friends just win gold.
“So on the one hand we're absolutely buzzing for them but on the other hand obviously gutting to miss out on a medal.”
Mixed team skeleton is just like the regular version but with arguably even more drama. Two athletes, one run each and the lowest combined time takes the gold, leaving no margin for error.
Tarbit and Wyatt were the fourth-last pair to go and Tarbit flew around the track in one minute flat.
That was the fastest of all 15 women in the field, including Olympic individual champion Janine Flock, underlining her vast potential.
Wyatt went down in 59.18 seconds for a combined time of 1:59.65 and they sat nervously waiting by the side of the track for the remaining three pairs to go.
By the time it came to Weston and Stoecker, Tarbit and Wyatt were on course for bronze and it remained that way when Stoecker’s was only good enough for fourth.
That gave Weston a lot of work to do but the individual Olympic champion was electric down the ice to take gold.
In doing so, he became Britain’s first double gold medallist at the same Olympics.
Tarbit, who worked in a pub in Ockbrook, Derbyshire and waitressed after sixth form, held her head up high after the result and is already looking to the future.
The next Winter Olympics are in the French Alps in 2030 and it’s already in her long-term thinking after a pair of solid results.
She also finished seventh in the individual event.
“I'm trying not to be too disappointed because I've come fourth and seventh at my first Olympic Games so it's not bad at all,” she said.
“I am motivated for the future, it's there definitely.
“I was really proud of my run, I left it all out there and I couldn't have done much more.
“I'm proud of it and I'm proud of both of us you know we tried our best and that's all you can do.”
Sportsbeat 2026