It's a sight Patrick Singleton would love to see repeated in Torino in 2006 - standing proudly at the centre of the podium.

The young Bermudian picked up his first win on the skeleton circuit, being crowned South American and Caribbean Championship last weekend in Altenberg, Germany.

But the victory, his first in either skeleton or luge, “means nothing” unless he can propel himself from here onto a podium at the Winter Olympics in 423 days.

“It was nice for five minutes,” said Singleton, who has successfully made the unlikely leap across the sporting chasm from luge - feet-first flinging yourself down an icy track - to the head-first version.

“It is an honour, don't get me wrong, but it is the grand prize I am after. I am doing this to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.”

Singleton only found out the day before Saturday's Europa Cup race in Altenberg - one of the world's most dangerous tracks - that he would be competing for the regional crown, an event that was being raced for within the Europa Cup.

His 16th place finish in the main event was enough to outgun all of his regional competitors, including a number who competed in the Winter Olympics last time around.

“There were some good sliders out there,” continued Singleton, who is now regarded as one of the best drivers on the circuit, even though his start continues to keep him out of the top ten in the world-class fields.

“Most of these guys have been doing it for longer than me and were at the Olympics. They are not the best in the world but they are certainly good athletes.

“To be honest, I am well ahead of all the guys from the smaller nations now. I have come a long way since I took up this sport and the only guys I can't beat at the moment are the ones from the big nations, the Germans, Austrians and some of the Brits and Italians.

“But I have made big strides and so I knew I would win this race after my first run.”

But for Singleton, winning a regional prize is not as important as the quality of his runs, and he was unhappy with his second attempt on Saturday, one which dropped him a couple of places down the standings.

The youngster, whose Bermuda shorts from the opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Games are on show in the Olympic Museum, races without any padding, even on a circuit as dangerous as Altenberg - and his bravery cost him on Saturday.

“In training I always wear protection, but when I race I don't bother,” he said in a statement sure to upset his mother.

“I find that you don't give your all when you have that safety net, so I tend not to go with the padding. In the second run I nicked a wall with my left shoulder and it burnt through to my skin.

“When you are going at more than 100 mph and you get a nick, it doesn't take much to go through the thin layer of lycra to your skin. It is quite painful and the loss of concentration I suffered because of the pain was just enough to slow me down a little on the next curve - and that hurt my time.

“Like I say, it is nice to have won that award, my first in skeleton, but I wasn't as happy with the second run. If you have a terrible round of golf but still win a tournament it doesn't give you the same sense of satisfaction as when you shoot well below par.

“I wasn't really thinking about the regional championship, it was a race within a race and I was just concentrating on finishing as far up the field as possible in the main event, but it was a nice bonus to have won.

“Winning is always nice, but for me it is important to have the perfect run if I ever am going to achieve my aim of winning the big prize.”

Ever the perfectionist, despite his unhappiness with his run, Singleton was still three seconds faster this year on the circuit - a huge amount of time in a sport where hundredths of a second can be the difference between winning and losing.

This weekend he heads down to Konigsee, venue for last year's world championships, for the final round of the Europa Cup in 2004.