KRISTAN BROMLEY will be looking to take some of the limelight off Great Britain's top medal prospect Alex Coomber when both compete in the skeleton bobsleigh in Salt Lake City today.

But the Waterfoot athlete - nicknamed Dr Ice because he has a PhD in his sport - will be a winner either way as he has designed the sled which could help three time women's World Champion Alex become the first Briton to stand on top of the Winter Olympics podium since Torvill and Dean.

Bromley, 29, will be competing at the Utah Olympic Park at the same time in the men's event and although in the six practice sessions he has been in tenth place he will be looking to make a bigger hit when he competes on the two runs, starting around 4pm our time today.

Training times do not count and it is the average fastest time over the two runs - around 1335 metres in length with 15 curves which means less than two minutes on the track - that wins gold.

Kristan, whose family live in Waterfoot but are currently out supporting him, got involved in the sport - where he will hurl himself head first down a run at speeds of more than 80 mph with his nose an inch above the ice with little but Lycra and a helmet to protect - through his work.

It was part of research project at his employees British Aerospace which he undertook six years ago and he decided he needed to give the sport a go - and has never looked back.

He won Great Britain's first gold medal in the skeleton event in the World Cup in Calgary and, although there has been less impressive showings in the competitions since, he is keen to make an impact in Salt Lake City.

And he will be hoping Alex also stars on his sled - and she in turn will be hoping Blackburn's four times World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty will be watching her as she is a huge Superbike fan and has called her dog 'Foggy' after her hero.

"Alex and myself are very focused on what we need to do," admitted Bromley.

"We are going there to win what we can. We have got that goal and that is our focus.

"It is a sport which is physically and mentally tough. People think that all you do is run, jump on a sled and go down a track. It looks easy but there's a lot more involved than that.

"It's extremely demanding on your mind to focus on that length of time without making a mistake.

"If you don't respect the tracks then they'll bite you. It is dangerous and it can hurt you."

All the attention in on Coomber, an RAF Officer, as she hopes to make the event Briton's own in its return to the Winter Olympics. There has been no skeleton bob since 1948 as it was banned for being too dangerous.

Coomber finished fastest in three out of the six skeleton practice sessions this week and starts as favourite.

But every hundredth of a second counts in her two runs, and she will face stiff competition from the likes of Canadian Maya Pedersen, American firefighting hero Lee Ann Parsley and Russian Ekaterina Mironova.

Coomber admitted the sport is dangerous. She said: "The only thing I could liken it to is being pulled along on a skateboard by a truck going very fast down a motorway."

But she is confident she can win Britain's first gold medal in 18 years.

"I know I have proved myself as a world-class skeleton slider.

"It's not become an obsession to win an Olympic gold medal although I would like to.

"I know I could make a small mistake or I could have a bit of good luck. That is what it will come down to."

The 28-year-old added: "I don't think about losing. There's no point in turning up if that is my frame of mind.

"I will be nervous, I always am but I will turn this into positive pressure."