By Stephen Wright in LondonFrom athlete to politician, Patrick Singleton is braced for a very different Olympic experience in London to when he represented Bermuda at the Winter Games in the luge and skeleton.As the World Olympic Association (WOA) chairman of events, Singleton has spent the past few months burning the midnight oil arranging accommodation for past Olympians, liaising with high-ranking dignitaries and organising the most exclusive gala at this summer’s Games.It’s a far cry from his days as a three-time Winter Olympian, hurtling head first down an icy track at speeds of 85 miles per hour on a piece of metal half the length of his body.And while Singleton insists he is relishing his all-encompassing, all-consuming role at the WOA, he admits he has incurred more stress in recent months than all his years of competition.“Once you’re an Olympian you are always an Olympian. We’re a large organisation with more than 100,000 members and it could be that we’re the most exclusive club in the world,” said Singleton, who was elected to the WOA executive board as treasurer last November.“Basically, my WOA work starts at 5pm when I finish my day job and sometimes I’m still going at 6am; I really don’t sleep much at the moment.“Although we’re not involved in the actual running of the Olympics itself, our central theme is to provide athletes with a venue to escape the pressures of competition where they can find a quiet refuge, bring their family, meet their friends and be among other Olympians who know what they’re going through.“We’ve basically set up a hospitality centre in London for Olympians, both active and retired.”On Wednesday night, Singleton pulled off a major feat by successfully staging an extravagant Olympians Gala at St James’ Palace, which was attended by Princess Anne and Prince Albert II of Monaco.As the home of several members of the Royal Family, St James’ Palace is used for official functions but this was the first time in its history that it was opened for such a special public event.Other notable attendees included King Constantine of Greece, Olympic pole vault gold medallist Sergey Bubka, Kenyan steeplechase legend Moses Kiptanui and former Japan and Bolton footballer Hidetoshi Nakata.“The Olympians Gala, the most exclusive social event of the Games, has been a huge logistical challenge,” said Singleton, who delivered a speech to the 400 esteemed guests in both his native tongue and Japanese.“I found the most exclusive location for the Gala and filled it with the most amazing Olympic family people. It was an amazing celebration of the Olympic spirit two days before the Opening Ceremony.”With an aging WOA looking to freshen up their organisation with “young, hungry and dynamic” faces, Singleton admits he was plucked from relative obscurity when invited to run for office.It’s certainly been an eye-opening experience for the father-of-one, who gained international attention by wearing Bermuda shorts in sub-zero temperatures at the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Games in Utah.“I was elected to the World Olympians Association executive board and it’s a really high position,” he said.“It’s by far the highest sports ranking official in Bermuda and I fall directly under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and help look after all of the Olympians.“The Association had been run by elderly people, very high profile people, but they wanted to add some young, hungry and dynamic people.“I mean, Dick Fosbury, the former US high jumper is a past president while Joël Bouzou, the current president, is also president of an organisation called Peace and Sport.“I’m very new to the role and it’s been interesting dealing with all these dignitaries, heads of state, politicians and kings; it’s fair to say we deal at quite a high level.“I grew up wanting to be an Olympian and to now be so close to the fascinating world of the IOC and seeing how it all works is very interesting.”Considering he was appointed on the eve of an Olympic year, and with so much to do and so little time to do it, to describe Singleton’s break-in period as a baptism of fire is an understatement.And since arriving in the capital on Monday, where he also plans to organise a Bermuda Day to promote the Island, Singleton his workload has shown no signs of diminishing.“It’s been extremely hectic and difficult; I’d love to go and enjoy the Games but I know I’m going to be working flat out and probably won’t get to see much of the event.“It’s been such an experience ever the last few months, however, I have a serious career now with the Bermuda Monetary Authority and they have kindly given me a little bit of lee-way for the summer.”At 37, Singleton is relatively young in skeleton terms and while he has no intention to return to competition anytime soon, he hasn’t closed the door completely on making a comeback.“I’ve never said I’ve retired,” he said. “I need to drop a lot of weight to get back into a spandex race suit it wouldn’t be a pretty sight! I’m actually still young compared to the top athletes although to do it properly you need to fully dedicate yourself to it.”