WITH just over a year to go before Patrick Singleton can fulfil his Winter Olympic dream, the verdict is: I'm glad I switched to skeleton.

If representing Bermuda at the Salt Lake City Olympics in one crazy downhill sport, the luge, wasn't enough for Singleton, he wants more, and that more involves hurling himself headfirst down an ice track in Italy in February next year ? and beyond.

"It's hard to describe what an amazing feeling it is to be working towards an Olympics again," said Singleton, who is at the halfway stage of his second season in the sport. "I have started afresh in a new sport and I was happy with the way my season went last year ? I was one of the unofficial top rookies.

"But that's not enough for me. I want to take it to the next level and start being the best at skeleton.

"I am glad I moved away from luge. It was very difficult for me to compete with the bigger nations with all the support the sliders had. They have all sorts of coaches and psychologists and all the training time and facilities they need.

"I would be nowhere now in the sport ? it was hard competing as an individual from a small nation.

"But in skeleton, even though there are some of the same disadvantages, I am finding it easier to hold my own.

"If the track is right and I put in my best performance, then there is no reason why I shouldn't have an outside shot at a medal at the Olympics.

"I am not saying it is going to be easy, far from it, but I think it is a possibility. And that is why I do what I do with so much commitment."

Singleton has flirted with the idea of full-time employment, something he went into after Salt Lake City, but admits that, for now at least, that isn't for him.

"I just got bored," continued Singleton, son of Coral Beach tennis pro Derek, who acted as manager during the last Winter Olympics.

"I felt like I was letting myself down. I knew I should be concentrating on my sport. That is what it is all about for me now. This is my goal and I am determined to pursue it.

"If you are going to do something like this, you have to do it properly and I want to put everything I've got into this."

His obvious dedication and passion seem to be paying off and he has already made great strides this season, building on the platform he laid last year across Europe and Japan.

Even though his summer was half-work, half-training, he has significantly improved his times, mostly courtesy of an intensive summer dose of sprint training to improve his start, now achieving the rank of 'perennial top 15 finisher'.

There is no questioning Singleton's abilities as a driver ? he is regarded as one of the best on the circuit ? but it is his start that continues to be his most significant bugbear.

For all his hard work, the Bermudian is still slower after the initial push, which translates to slower times further down the track, however good a driver you are.

"That is my biggest weakness and what I am working hard on," he continued.

"It's frustrating because I know that I can match most of the other guys for driving skills but my start is what keeps me off the podium.

"It's now too late for this year but in the summer that is going to be main focus. I will be spending all my time at a push facility in Calgary and hopefully, with the right advice, I should be able to go out into next season, the Olympic season, in a perfect position with a much faster start."

Singleton did claim his first skeleton victory earlier this year, but being crowned South American and Caribbean Championship in Altenberg, Germany, hasn't satisfied his thirst for success.

"That win, to be honest, didn't mean that much to me," he added.

"I need to be beating the big buys in the big competitions. That is why I am doing this."