January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Odds against Singleton medalling
Singleton is competing in his third Olympics, but the first time in the skeleton.
Bermuda's only Winter Olympian has the odds stacked against says International Bobsled Federation communications director Don Krone.
“I would not expect him to be in the top 15. I’m basing that on the fact that ahead of him are going to be the Germans, the Canadians, the Swiss, the Latvians, the French, the Russians and the Americans. When you add it up, that’s what the reality is.”
Krone added that Singleton's recent fourth place finish in the Olympic Qualifier for non-World Cup nations was a disappointment.
“I thought he was going to finish a little higher in the Challenge Cup. Some of those guys have raced in the World Cup so based on where they finished, I would say Patrick is going to be in the middle of the pack.”
There are 30 sliders participating in the skeleton in Torino. After the first run, the field will be cut to 20 to decide who will wear gold, silver and bronze.
Singleton will have to go all out in his first run if he wants to keep his medal hopes alive.
“The first heat is critical, because you have to make it to do the second heat,” Krone added.
“Snow always has a major impact,” Krone said. “Seeding is important but because Patrick isn't on the World Cup, he'll be in the third seed. He'll have a later start time, which could hurt or help him, depending on whether it's snowing or not.
“It's good to see Patrick qualify because that what makes the Olympics - people from smaller countries taking part.”
He said the addition of Bermudian Jay Rewalt competing on the skeleton circuit would benefit Singleton in the future because he'll end up getting a higher seeding.
Right now, athletes from countries that only have one slider are not allowed to compete on the World Cup. Krone said those rules might change this summer when there will be a meeting of the FIBT.
“Right now it’s virtual impossible,” for athletes like Singleton to compete on the World Cup Krone added.
“We changed the rules so a lot of countries to develop programmes, and clearly that's worked. It’s dramatically increased participation and countries that used to only have one athlete now have two or three.”
Krone says the favourites for the Olympics are Canadian Jeff Pain and Gregor Stahli from Switzerland.
He said that for Bermudians who may be unfamiliar with the sport should know that the weather will be a huge factor.[[In-content Ad]]
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