Pressure? What pressure? Patrick Singleton tuned out all the pomp and ceremony -- not to mention media blitz -- to produce two of his fastest times in the men's singles luge competition at the Winter Olympics.

Fulfilling a life-long dream, the 23-year-old Bermudian took part in the opening ceremonies on Saturday then a day later sped to 28th spot among the 34 competitors on the Spiral track of Lizuna, just outside of Nagano.

He completed his journey early this morning with the final two runs of the competition and while a medal wasn't on the cards, two more times like yesterday will be viewed as one of the Cinderella stories of the Games.

Racing before a cheering crowd of 6,366, Singleton roared down the 1,300-metre ice track in 51.434 seconds for his first run and a 51.579 in his second.

Combined, his time of 1:43.013 left him 3.821 seconds behind leader George Hackl of Germany.

That's an eternity in luge but "absolutely stunning'' when factored against who he beat and how he got there, his mother, Sallie, said.

Singleton, focusing on this morning's runs, begged off interview requests but speaking briefly from Japan, Sallie Singleton said her son was "very pleased'' with his first day of competition.

Just the fact he's from Bermuda, where it has never snowed and where the highest elevation is only 80 metres, has made him a fan favourite among the Japanese. The lore spun almost out of control when he spent almost all of January training in Nagano, operating on a shoe-string budget and riding a hand-me-down sled after his first was demolished in a crash two weeks before the race.

"He's a bit of a media celebrity here,'' said Sallie Singleton. "There are thousands of Japanese hollering `Go Bermuda' (and) there are Bermuda flags everywhere. It's really fabulous.'' One thing he didn't do was carry the Bermuda flag in the opening ceremonies.

That honour went to Bermuda team manager and Bermuda Olympic Association secretary general John Hoskins, with Singleton and his father/coach Derek following behind. Hoskins was the only one of the three to wear Bermuda shorts in the 35-degree temperatures.

The only sliders to beat Singleton were ones from the major luge nations, such as Austria, Germany and the US. Competitors from countries such as Britain and France did not qualify for the Olympics.

But for one Japanese slider, Singleton led the Asian group he had been training with, including his friend, Shiva Keshavan of India, who was 29th after his two runs. And barring a crash, Singleton can realistically only hope to climb to 27th spot, ahead of Ion Staniu of Romania, who was .019 seconds faster over the first two runs.

It wasn't just Singleton who turned in spectacular times. The first 11 sliders eclipsed the track record, with Hackl, putting aside controversy over his new aerodynamic boots, leading the way.

He moved closer to his third straight Olympic title with runs of 49.619 and 49.573, .096 ahead over Italy's Armin Zoeggler (49.715 and 49.690) and .401 faster than two-time silver medallist Markus Prock of Austria (49.861 and 49.732).

For a guy whose nickname translates into "The Racing Sausage,'' Hackl made it look easy, zipping down a luge run as he has so many thousands of times since learning the sport as a 12-year-old in Bavaria.

Then he hops off the fibreglass and steel sled he built himself and acts as if nothing big has happened. Hackl, 31, always luges well when he needs to. Both times down the Spiral yesterday, he shattered the course record.

He also showed how his icy nerves can handle any situation.

Since lugers go down feet first, it was hard for everyone at the mountainside track not to notice his new golden boots, designed to cut through the wind better.

The United States and Canada certainly saw the new footwear and filed separate protests. They claimed the gear was not made available to other competitors and that the angle of the boots was illegal, allowing them to cut through the air better. But the protest was thrown out.

Asked about the boots, Hackl said wryly: "They are yellow.'' Hackl estimated the boots gave him between two-hundredths and three-hundredths of a second advantage on each run.

"If they were black, no one would say anything. But they look new and strange. They are within the rules. It's not my problem. They have a very good aerodynamic shape, and that's the advantage.'' "He knows how to win,'' America's top slider, said Wendel Suckow, who placed sixth after two runs. "He knows what he's doing and gets up for big races, like he did today. You've got to be gutty.'' No American has won an Olympic luge medal, and Suckow knows what it will take for him to be the first. "Hackl can smack a wall and it's all over,'' Suckow said. "The track's that fast.'' Winter Games round-up, Page 24.

OLYMPIC DREAM -- Patrick Singleton was 28th after his first two luge runs as Bermuda's only competitor in the Winter Olympics.