Matt Weston promised and then he delivered.
The skeleton ace stormed to Great Britain’s first gold at these Winter Olympics with a performance so brilliant and so dominant, you could not help but wonder if he really is one of ours.
Great Britain is hardly a force in winter sport but Weston, from Kent, is one to be reckoned with after bagging just the 13th winter gold in the 102 years of the Games.
The 28-year-old also became the third British man to win an individual gold medal, joining figure skaters John Curry and Robin Cousins, and did so with a style they would approve of.
He controlled the competition from start to finish to win by 0.88s from Germany’s Axel Jungk.
Weston built a 0.30s advantage over Jungk over the first two runs and clearly didn’t let the pressure get to him.
He was quicker with each run and added an extra 0.09s to his advantage in the third with another track record time of 55.63s.
His final run was just about staying clean and not pushing the envelope too far, but instead he went even faster to win with a cumulative time of 3:43.33.
"I literally can't describe it," he said. "I've been fortunate enough to win world championships, European championships and other things as well and this blows them all out of the water. I can't describe the feeling. I almost feel numb.
"It [the medal] is kind of not real. I keep touching it to make sure it is real but it doesn't feel real."
Rising to the occasion
There were plenty of eyes on Weston coming into these Olympics, with the 28-year-old labelled the favourite after back-to-back world championship golds.
That level of expectation can cause some to crumble, but Weston never looked bothered about the external fanfare and his confidence was clear from the outstet.
He chose to be the first athlete to hit the ice on the first run, choosing not to watch what his competitors could do and led throughout after setting down a track record with his opening effort.
Three more track records would follow in what became a domination of the field in Cortina - though Weston believes there is even more to come.
He said: "I think there's always bits to clean up. I'm very much a perfectionist.
"Every single run I do I'm thinking I need to clean this set, I need to clean that up. Even if it was a track record, I'm still very much trying to find that perfect line.
"Whether it's possible or not I don't know but that's what keeps me going.
"I'm still hunting for that perfect run but at the moment this feels as close as I can get."
Valentine's Day present
Many had noted the date - Friday the 13th - and hoped there would be no Weston Super Nightmare for the British star.
Instead, it was a dream and the perfect early Valentine's Day present for Weston's fiancée Alex, who was in the crowd in Cortina.
Weston's meticulous preparations for Olympic gold even included organising his Valentine's Day gift ahead of time - though an Olympic gold medal is not a bad last-minute effort.
The couple will get married in the summer, meaning Friday 13 February will be the best day of Weston's life for at least a few months.
"I'm getting married in July so I can say yes for about a few months and then I have to change my answer," he joked.
"I'm out of the country for six months of the year and it's not a glamorous lifestyle being a skeleton athlete but she's still always there supporting me.
"My fiancée actually goes home and I've got a little present already packed up there so I feel pretty productive and proactive in myself so that's a little bit of a pat on the back."
Sportsbeat 2026