Marvellous Matt Weston became Britain's first skeleton world champion in eight years with an untouchable performance in St. Moritz.
The 25-year-old raced to glory on the track in a combined time of 4:28.71, the first Brit to take the title since Lizzie Yarnold in 2015 and the first British man since Kristan Bromley in 2008.
Weston clinched the European crown in Germany earlier this month and has completed the double with a glorious gold in Switzerland in what has been an extraordinary season for the slider.
Fellow Brits Craig Thompson and Marcus Wyatt also impressed with fourth and fifth place finishes respectively.
“It's an amazing feeling. It’s an absolute dream to be world champion,” said Weston.
“I can’t really describe it, to be honest. It’s pretty special!
“I knew that I had a good chance after winning the last two World Cups in Altenberg but to actually come here and make it a reality is incredible.
“To do it at the birthplace of the sport as well makes it even more memorable.
“I’m gutted for Craig that he just missed bronze but it’s been a brilliant week for all of us - three in the top five is awesome.
“It’s been a brilliant season so far but this is something else."
WORLD NO.1🥇@MattWeston02 is the first British man to become World skeleton champion in 15 years!
— Team GB (@TeamGB) January 27, 2023
Absolutely incredible 🔥 pic.twitter.com/YGIntkjtas
After the first two runs, Weston held a comfortable 1.13 lead over the rest of the competition, setting a track record of 1:06.88 on his second run.
On the second day of competition, the Olympian extended his lead even further, finishing a staggering 1.79 seconds ahead of silver medallist Amedeo Bagnis of Italy who upgraded his bronze from last season's Junior Worlds.
Victory in Switzerland brings a sweet ending to Weston's January, with a World Cup double in Altenberg and European gold already in the bag.
Korea's Seunggi Jung grabbed bronze in a tense fourth run, narrowly pipping Thompson to a medal by one hundredth of a second.
Thompson recorded his best result of the season and highest finish at a World Championships with fourth place in Switzerland whilst Wyatt continued his impressive run of top 10 finishes this season.
Mixed team skeleton will make it's Olympic debut at Milan-Cortina 2026 and Britain started their campaign on the front foot with silver and bronze at the 2023 World Championships.
Weston was joined by 2018 Olympic bronze medallist Laura Deas and the duo powered to silver in St. Moritz in a combined time of 2:25.04, with Thompson grabbing bronze alongside Brogan Crowley.
The 2023 event introduced a new reaction time start instead of the usual recorded sprint start for athletes, Weston producing the fast reaction out of the Brits in a time of 0.09 seconds.
2022 Olympian Crowley was thrilled with a bronze medal in the team focussed event, sharing the podium with three of her teammates.
"It's a team race, which is great fun, but also means more pressure because you have a team partner," she said.
"I was quite nervous before the new reaction start. But it makes the race even more interesting with an extra level of excitement."
Sportsbeat 2023