Bermuda luger Patrick Singleton is back on the long, icy road to the 2002 Winter Olympics.

After missing a year of World Cup luge events because of an injury suffered in a high-speed crash, Singleton is raring to go again for the new season ahead.

The 26-year-old's main aim for the moment is to crank his speed back to world-class level after his lengthy absence from the World Cup circuit.

After spending the past few days at a training camp in Salt Lake City, Utah, hurtling around the track which will host the 2002 Olympic luge event, Singleton was confident of qualifying for the Games which are now just 16 months away.

Singleton became only the second Bermudian Winter Olympian when he competed in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. He currently works as a producer for Bloomberg TV in Japan, a job which came about as a result of becoming a favourite with the country's media at the Nagano Games.

Speaking from Utah yesterday, Singleton said: "My focus right now is not the Olympics, it's just to go faster.

"I haven't been out of the sport for the past year, it's just I've been out of World Cup events. And I've been going faster and faster the last couple of days, but I'm not up to World Cup speed just yet. After a month in full training I should be back at full speed.

"I'm confident I can qualify for the Olympics and of course, I'd like to win a medal, but realistically I'll be looking for a top 20 finish.

"The most important thing for me will be to focus mentally and by the Games I should be physically ready after the next two seasons on the World Cup circuit.'' Singleton's lay-off came about as the result of a crash in Egels, Austria, in November last year.

"I did not realise how bad it was at the time,'' said Singleton. "I could hardly walk for a couple of weeks, but it was whiplash injury and that did not even start to effect me for a month.

"It was very painful and I had to see doctors in the States and to be honest, I'm still not up to 100 percent.'' Singleton is training at Salt Lake City with his Federation of International Luge team and he was impressed by the track.

"It's shaping up to be the fastest track in the world,'' he said. "People have been going round at 95 miles per hour this week, but on Olympic ice, it will be a lot faster. It's not a driving track, it's more of a gliding track, where you have to be able to carry your speed. There are four or five technical turns and a few nasty corners, but I don't think it's a difficult track.

"Because it's so fast, there is very little reaction time for corners and if you make a small mistake, it can be very painful.'' Singleton himself suffered some bad bruising from his weekend training, though one of his team-mates came out worse, with broken ribs.

The track was completed three years ago, but as is customary with Olympic host nations, the Americans have ensured that lugers from other nations have had little time to practise on it.

"The start facilities have not been built yet and without those, they cannot host a World Cup event and that way, they can keep non-Americans from having a lot of runs on the track.

"The Americans are playing games with the rest of the world so they can get medals -- but that's normal.'' The Salt Lake track will be hosting its first World Cup event in February next year and organisers are obliged to let lugers practise at the venue beforehand.

The World Cup season starts with a race in Nagano on February 1 and then moves onto Salt Lake, Lake Placid and Calgary, Canada.

Singleton hopes to compete in all of those races as he works towards meeting the tough criteria for Olympic qualification. World Cup appearances and points are needed to qualify for the Games, but just to qualify for each World Cup event is demanding.

To gain a starting place, Singleton has five runs and must achieve a time within seven percent of the fastest time clocked.

"To qualify for the Olympics in luge is tougher than qualifying for some summer Olympic sports,'' said Singleton. "You have to perform well on the world stage.'' International competition is not cheap and although his team have helped Singleton with the cost of training camps, he said he would need sponsors to help him compete on the World Cup circuit.

"I am confident Bermuda Olympic Association will help me, as luge is a sport which has sent Bermuda athletes to three Olympics,'' said Singleton, referring to the achievements of his Bermudian luge predecessor Simon Payne.

"And Austin Woods (BOA president) and John Hoskins (BOA general secretary) have always been very supportive of me.'' Raring to go: Bermuda luger Patrick Singleton is back on course for the 2002 Winter Olympics and returning to top-level competition after a year-long absence.