WATERFOOT isn't one of the places you would expect to find a Winter Olympic medal hopeful but Kristan Bromley is aiming to be the pride of Lancashire.

With the Winter Olympics starting in Salt Lake City today, Bromley, who lives in the Valley, will be competing on February 20 in the skeleton bob.

The 29-year-old - nicknamed "Dr Ice' because he has a PHD in the science of the sport - is a design engineer at BAe Systems and is in America with a genuine hope of a medal.

He finished in the top 10 at the last four World Championships and was ranked ninth in the world last year - all on a sled he designed himself.

And his family will be there supporting him, with dad Ray, mother Mavis and brother Richard making the trip across the Atlantic.

"The sport chose me," Kristan admitted. "I started on a technical programme with BAe and realised that it would help with designing it if I could do the sport, so I had a go, found I had a knack for it and six years later I'm in the Olympics."

It is not a sport to take lightly. It involves lying on the stomach and going down the bobsleigh run with just a small Lycra suit and a small helmet for safety.

There are two runs at the Utah Olympic Park in Salt Lake City and the competitors are all timed on the first one, with the top 20 going through to do the second one.

The average time is then given to determine the medal winners. "It is exhilarating.

"It is a mixture of pure adrenaline and fear. You go head first and for one mile you are going speeds of up to 80 or 90 miles an hour, just two inches from ice and concrete with little to protect you. It is a huge sensation. 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. It is dangerous and can hurt you. That's what keeps me awake."

Dad Ray is confident his son can make the grade.

"He was always kamikaze! He used to ride motocross when he was younger and he was barmy then!" he said of the former Bacup and Rawtenstall pupil who went on to Nottingham University.

"Looking at his times, if he hits the form on the day, I think he can win a medal.

"It is frightening watching - you just need to ask his mother! And it looks even faster when you are on the track side."

It is the first time skeleton bobsleigh has been introduced into Winter Olympics since the 1940s.

"My aim is for Olympic gold but a top three placing would be great," added Kristan.

The Waterfoot athlete has been overshadowed to a certain extent by the performances of British team-mate Alex Coomber who is among the favourites for gold in the women's event.

She is competing on one of the sleds Kristan has designed.

And even she has a Blackburn connection as she has called her dog "Foggy" after four times World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty.

Skeleton Bobsleigh - the facts

The world's first sliding sport skeleton was born in the Swiss town of St Moritz in the late 1800s

The sport got its name in 1892 when a new sled made mostly of metal was introduced - people thought it looked like a skeleton

In 1923 the Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobagganing was founded

Men's skeleton will be held in this Winter Olympics for the first time since St Moritz in 1948 - the women's event is making its debut

Olympic skeleton events consist of two timed runs on the same day and final standings are determined by the aggregate time of the two runs

The Salt Lake City competitions will be held on February 20 for both men and women at the Utah Olympic Park