Olympic skeleton: Matt Weston leads at midpoint with Heraskevych out

Matt Weston of Britain leads the men's Olympic skeleton after two heats with a combined time of 1:52.09, and Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified before the race began.

Britain's Matt Weston holds the midpoint lead in the men's Olympic skeleton after two heats in Cortina d'Ampezzo. He posted the fastest time in both runs, reaching the halfway mark with a combined time of 1 minute, 52.09 seconds. Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified before the race began, an incident that occurred at the track prior to the competition. Weston said he only learned of the disqualification hours later. Key details: - Weston had the fastest time in both heats and led with a total of 1:52.09. - Reigning Olympic silver medalist Axel Jungk was 0.30 seconds back and reigning champion Christopher Grotheer was 0.46 seconds back. - Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified before his start; the removal happened at the track prior to the competition. - Weston said he was not aware of the disqualification until reporters approached him after his runs. - U.S. sliders noted starts and injuries: Austin Florian had the best start and sat 13th, while Dan Barefoot was 19th coping with a shoulder injury. Summary: Weston's strong first two runs put him ahead going into the final two runs scheduled for Friday, with a narrow gap to key rivals. The timing and results now set the field for those concluding heats. Details about any further proceedings regarding Heraskevych's disqualification are undetermined at this time.