CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Skeleton may slightly trail luge and bobsleigh in the sliding sport speed rankings but with its athletes' heads skimming only centimetres from a tunnel of ice, it creates a mix of fear and exhilaration that becomes an instant drug for many.
Bobsledders have the covered protection of their machine, while lugers lead with their feet, leaving the "crazy tribe" of skeleton to literally meet the danger head first.
Even though they invariably have their first taste of the event at a slightly slower speed than the 80mph-plus of full competition, by being launched halfway down the track, the shock is still not something they forget in a hurry.
"I barely knew my own name, it was like a roller coaster that's broken," said Britain's Marcus Wyatt when he looked back on his debut.
"When you are new, the sled is taking you for a ride. You want to be here, you want to be there but you're just ping-ponging off the walls, bang, bang, bang, and you're not in control."
Wyatt says he has come up with the ideal way to help children understand what it's like when he speaks in schools. "I say to them, 'imagine your parents are driving down the motorway and I come flying past in the outside lane - getting a speeding ticket from the police'. They get it then and say "wow, yes, that is pretty fast."
Compatriot and Olympic gold medal favourite Matt Weston said he distinctly remembers his first experience after converting to the sport through a talent identification programme.
"You have no control and you’re hitting concrete walls covered in ice so that was fairly unnerving and pretty terrifying," he said.
"In the first 10 metres I thought, 'wait, I've got no brakes' so I quickly realised I'm going to the bottom whether I like this or not. That kind of sensation and lack of control when you first start is definitely something you need to get your brain around and takes some getting used to.
"But as soon as I got to the bottom, I had that bug, that adrenaline rush and I was like 'I want to go again'."
American Mystique Ro said it was hard to explain the appeal. "I would love to say I'm adventurous, but I'm scared of theme parks," she said.
"You can't get me on the drop tower, but you can get me on a mountain going 70 miles an hour, head‑first, no problem."
Skeleton athletes have topped 90mph, though the technically challenging Cortina track will mean most will be in the low 80s.
Whatever the speed, the Winter Olympics is always a grim reminder of the dangers of sliding sports, with the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on a training run at 2010 Games in Vancouver bringing about a series of safety changes.
Weston said a recent crash left steel parts of his sled bent - as well as parts of his body. "It's not ideal, very painful, but it's a reminder that this isn't actually a safe sport," he said.
"This is pretty dangerous and gives you that reality check."
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Toby Davis)
