Patrick Singleton attempts to follow in his snowprints.

Simon Payne, who competed in the luge in the 1992 Olympics in Albertville and 1994 Games in Lillehammer, was thrilled after learning of Singleton's bronze medal in a Nations Cup luge competition on Sunday.

"I'm really happy for him,'' said Payne, now retired from competitive luging.

"People don't realise what a disadvantage it is competing against countries who have a pool of hundreds of thousands of people and you're coming from Bermuda with a population of 55,000. I tell you, hats off to guys like Patrick.'' Singleton is currently in Austria competing in training runs for this weekend's World Cup races. By finishing in the top seven percent of training times at the end of the week, he will have met the qualifying standard for the Nagano Olympics in February.

Even if he doesn't, Singleton has already established a Bermuda first with his third-place finish on the Le Plagnes, France, track that saw the luge competition during the Albertville Games. Payne's best international finish was tenth in a Lake Placid, New York, World Cup race in 1991.

It was Payne who plowed the way for Singleton, both with his dry-land luge camp that introduced the sport to the Island 18 months ago ago and through his six tough years on the World Cup circuit.

In an interview yesterday, Payne spoke of the resentment displayed by athletes from snow-bound countries, belittling the efforts of a warm-blooded Bermudian in a sport traditionally dominated by Europeans. "I took it very seriously,'' Payne said. "I didn't think of it as a joke.'' Payne said other lugers refused to talk to him. He was given only a fraction of the training runs of, for instance, Germans, and even then was only allowed on the track late at night.

"It certainly wasn't in the spirit of the Olympic movement,'' said Payne, the son of champion cyclist Jeff Payne.

It wasn't until Payne formed the Bermuda Luge Federation -- giving the Island the same voting rights as larger nations -- that he began to get justice.

"It took a long time to break down barriers,'' he said.

Singleton said earlier this week he hasn't experienced any bias and that he and lugers from other small countries have formed their own clique.

Still, not all the barriers have been broken: After his bronze medal performance on Sunday, officials didn't have a Bermuda flag to raise. Payne knows all about that, which is why he carried his own in a suitcase as he travelled to various competitions.

Now 33 and the father of a new-born son, Jordan, it took Payne four years to establish himself on the circuit whereas it has taken Singleton, 23, less than two.

Singleton's interest in the sport was initially sparked by Payne, using a wheeled luge at a St. David's camp last April. Of the group that were there that day, Singleton is the only who stuck with it.

"He was very determined,'' said Payne.

Given that characterisic, Payne isn't surprised at Singleton's ascent. But that is partly because of necessity.

Payne said athletes from tiny nations such as Bermuda: a) must still earn the respect of other athletes; b) don't have time to slowly climb through the ranks because they are competing against Europeans who have been luging since they were in public school; and, c) cost.

Singleton, like Payne did, basically lives hand-to-mouth, city-to-city, paying up to $10 for each slide down the icy track. "Every run has to count,'' said Payne, who says it cost him about $10,000 annually to compete.

Given all this, the Island should give him all the support it can muster, said Payne.

"Bermuda will be happy to know they're getting millions of dollars worth of free advertising by having him on the World Cup circuit,'' he said.

LUGE LUG