camp aimed at teaching kids to take over where he has left off.

Finally hanging up his luge after scoring a personal best time at the Lillehammer Games, he is hoping that someone will be sufficiently inspired by his example to start training now for the next Winter Olympics -- four years away, in Japan.

Talking to Living about his twice-in-a-lifetime experience of representing his country on the world sporting stage, the young policeman said that, although he did not come home with a medal, he was pleased that his presence in Norway captivated so much attention.

"When I walked into the stadium, behind John Hoskins, carrying the flag, there was a great roar of applause and everyone was shouting, `Bermuda! Bermuda!' When you have millions of people watching, it makes you feel very proud. I felt like a rock star!'' Everyone, he said, wanted to know how a guy from Bermuda came to be competing in the luge event -- traditionally a sport for countries where ice-bound winters are the norm.

"The eyes of the world were on Lillehammer, so it was a very good chance for me to push Bermuda's image as much as I could. I received a lot of press. I was interviewed in Norwegian Newsweek, on German national television, and the BBC.'' He was also featured in the special newspaper distributed daily to all competitors in the Olympic Village.

Ruling out Bermuda shorts for the opening ceremony, due to the intense cold, Simon Payne wore an outfit designed by his wife, Maria.

"Some of the participants just wear ski-suits and that doesn't seem right for the occasion. So, bearing in mind that Bermuda is now also an important international business centre, we decided to go for a business-like appearance.'' He found that many people were indeed interested in this aspect of Bermuda.

"I talked to a lot of people about the fact that companies come here -- especially countries like Norway, because half their wages go to pay taxes.

Everything is taxed over there. So I talked about business opportunities, and of course, all about our wonderful beaches. A few people thought Bermuda was in the Caribbean, so I soon set them straight on that!'' Holding his bronze medallion of participation as he spoke, Mr. Payne admitted he was still on "cloud nine'' over the fact that he even managed to qualify for this year's Olympic Games: "It still hasn't sunk in,'' he laughed, adding that he had more or less given up hope of being able to represent Bermuda again.

"I had just started a new job, with the Police, so I didn't think I'd be allowed to go away. But then I found out I could still qualify after Christmas so I decided I should go for it. It was a gamble, but I knew that if I hadn't made the attempt, it would always play on my mind, and I'd always regret it.'' So off he went to Altenburg, in the former eastern sector of Germany, where the Nations Cup was being held. Because he had not completed the training runs, he was not allowed to compete, but the day after his arrival, he persuaded officials to let him do practice runs in between events.

"It was very hard work, because I had to use the ladies' runs and then climb another 200 metres up the track to get to the men's course -- which is a much swifter run.'' No, he insisted, it was not the icy helter-skelter that frightened him, as much as the thought of failure. He admitted, however, that some courses are worse than others: "Some of the Italians were terrified of the Konigzee course in 92/93. But luge is definitely a psychological sport, it's imperative that you're in control of the psychological aspect and then you're OK.'' Simon Payne's personal journey into what nevertheless appears to be one of the most terrifying sports of all, began when he served in the British Army for three years. Stationed in Germany, he joined his unit's biathlon team (shooting and cross-country ski-ing) and also took part in patrol races.

"We were there for five months and at the end of that, a memo came round asking for volunteers to try luge. I didn't even know what it was, but I'd spent a lot of time doing sports for the army, so I put my name down. In any case, it got me off guard duty!'' He admitted that when he saw the track for the first time, he found it hard to believe that anyone could make such a huge structure: "The whole thing is enormous, refrigerated, packed full of tubing and embedded in concrete so that it lasts through a winter season''.

Beginning with wooden sleds ("they just kick you in the head and send you down!''), he soon graduated to the real thing, and the mere idea of hurtling down a steep, icy track at more than 100 kilometres per hour became a passion.

Mr. Payne worked as a commercial diver and as a fisheries warden (this allowed him to spend five months training in the winter) before joining the Bermuda Police for the second time around.

To qualify for this year's Games, he had to match 10 percent of the fastest time -- a recent rule, designed to deter "the loonies'' who, in Calgary, had entered, without any previous experience, or after only a few days' training.

No, he emphasised, he did not see anything of the media-hyped American skaters: "The people in the Village were just not interested in all that business. The only ones who were interested were the press.'' Norway, he felt, was a far more successful setting for the Games than that of Albertville, in France, where he also competed two years ago.

"In France they tried to put the Olympics all over the Savoie, but at Lillehammer, there was just one main village, so everything was going on in a relatively small area. That made for a much better atmosphere.'' Mr. Payne was also full of praise for the way in which the Olympics complex was laid out and for the services provided. In Albertville, he only met fellow sledders, whereas in Norway, he had the opportunity to meet all the other sports represented. The enormous eating hall, where food of every kind was available all day, became the social centre: "All the nationalities mixed and we would sit there for ages, drinking coffee and talking. I was training alongside Prince Rainier of Monacco, who was doing the bob-sled, and I saw Princess Anne there as well.'' The tragedy of recent events in Sarajevo was brought home to him when he shared a taxi from Oslo with a bob-sledder who had escaped from Bosnia to compete in this year's Games.

"He had been in Sarajevo and was very upset that although he had managed to get out, he had to leave his family behind.'' Thoughts of the former Olympic village were never far from people's thoughts, he said.

"They had this slogan, `Drop your guns and be one'. It didn't dampen our spirits -- it just made us very aware that although we had made it to the Games, a lot of people hadn't been able to make it . . .'' Bosnia, he said, marched right behind him in the Opening Ceremony and received a tumultuous welcome from the crowd.

The condo housing complex, erected to house the athletes in the Village, was due to be moved about 200kms. north, after the Games, to provide homes for refugees from Bosnia.

"The way they organised the housing was fantastic. They brought in complete condos -- a bit like a huge version of Boaz Island -- we had one to ourselves.

The whole thing was set up like a real town, with roads (which were banked with snow), and there was a big walkway with stores, movies, games rooms, indoor golf, sauna and an enormous conference hall that was going to be used as a church once the Games were all over.'' Although he came 31st out of 33 racers at Lillehammer, luge competitions are often decided by a few thousandths of a second, and he achieved his fastest time ever, sweeping down the three-quarters of a mile slippery slope at 120 kilometres per hour. He was satisfied with this but added, "I think that if I'd had longer to train, I could have done even better''.

He said he is grateful to the Police force who granted him representational time to train and take part in the Games: "They have been very supportive''.

Now, he is turning his attention to running a camp "on a hill somewhere, to teach kids on wheel sleds. This will give them an idea of what luge is like. I want to encourage someone, somewhere, to fight for the next four years, to go to Japan. Anyone who's interested has to be self-motivated, to train hard, to pay their own way, and be prepared to make sacrifices. The reward -- of representing your country in the Olympics -- is the chance of a lifetime.

"I have a sled and complete outfits. All I need is someone to take over. I would help them, and my coach, silver medalist Marcus Prock, said he would be prepared to come and coach at the camp.'' Any takers? OH, DE PAYNE! -- Bermuda's luge racer, Simon Payne, hurtles down the icy track at 120 kilometres per hour at the Lillehammer Olympics.

BERMUDA'S OLYMPIAN -- Simon Payne, Bermuda's only competitor in the Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games, holding the bronze medallion which was awarded to all athletes who took part.