If the Winter Olympics were being held this week, Bermuda?s Patrick Singleton would likely have found himself atop the podium with a gold medal dangling round his neck ? such has been his dominance on the skeleton track in Turin, Italy, where the actual Games will get underway next February.

Along with the rest of the world?s leading skeleton Olympians, Singleton has been taking the opportunity to test the Turin track and in eight runs over two days has surprised even himself by recording by far the fastest times of any of the competitors.

However, rather than boost his confidence, Singleton?s exceptional performance has made him even more wary of his rivals.

?I just think they haven?t figured out the track as well as I have,? he said from his hotel room last night. ?Give them a couple of more days and it?ll be interesting to see what times they can post.

?But at the moment I?m way ahead of everybody. My times are two and a half seconds faster than anyone else, which is incredible. That represents a huge distance.?

Training with the British team, Singleton said it was he and his coach?s intention to put up ?good numbers? from the start and ?intimidate? the rest of the pack.

?And I think that?s exactly what we?ve done,? he said.

?In the four runs we?ve had, I?ve been much faster . . . not just overall but on every stage of the run. My splits have been consistently better than anyone else.

?But to be honest, I think I just I learn tracks faster than anyone else. We?ll see what happens over the next four days.?

During that period Singleton will have eight more runs ? two each day.

?I have no doubt the others will close the time gap, but it will be interesting to see how much,? he added.

?An awful lot can happen between now and February and I do realise some racers learn tracks faster than others. Some people take two or three days before they feel comfortable.?