January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.

Singleton slides into the top 60

But will it be enough to qualify him for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver?
Singleton slides into the top 60
Singleton slides into the top 60

By Carla [email protected] | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

If Patrick Singleton fails to qualify for next month's Winter Games in Vancouver it won't be for a lack of effort.

The Bermudian skeleton racer is fresh off a strong showing in Park City, Utah where he beat some of the world's elite.

Yet despite accumulating a bundle of points at his last event Singleton's 2010 Olympic bid still hangs in the balance.

He is now ranked among the top 60 in the world, which is the requirement for Olympic qualification but fears last week's impressive showing in Utah may have come too late.

Singleton's Olympic fate is out of his own hands and he must now rely upon the International Skeleton Federation to determine whether or not he will fly the island's banner in Vancouver next month.

He said: "The Olympic start list has still not been released and I have heard that the IOC is putting some pressure on the international skeleton federation to fill the quotas with qualified athletes.

"My fingers are crossed because if I get to go to the Games I stand a very, very good chance of producing a good result there. I believe I could do extremely well at the Olympic Games if I can get there. We will have to wait and see what the skeleton federation decides."

Singleton's Olympic qualifying bid got off to a disappointing start which could come back to haunt should he fall short of his primary objective.

Frustrating

He said: "It is just frustrating that due to some bad luck early on this season it has kept me from scoring big points until last Friday's result.

"I had a storming race in Park City on Friday and scored loads of points. I was twelfth in a ICC race there which was a fantastic result. This pushed me inside the top sixty however the result may have come three days too late."

He added: "I could never have imagined six months ago that I would run this fast. I am faster than most of the Canadians as an example.

"My start used to be a weakness and now it is competitive. My starts at the moment are very good and athletically I am in fantastic physical shape and technically it is almost perfect."

Singleton had hoped to make inroads to a fourth overall Olympic appearance at the start of the new year. But a disappointing showing in Calgary did not help his cause.

He said: "In Calgary I really struggled for speed. It was an important double-headed race and I needed to do well there. But the weather was very, very warm. Unusually warm with high winds."

Singleton also encountered difficulty with his sled.

"I just couldn't get the right set up with the equipment and was very slow," he added "My sled doesn't like warm conditions - anything warmer than minus -2c and it doesn't build speed down the track. All my good results this season have come under cold conditions and we don't fully understand the reason for this."

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