WALES' only representative at the Winter Olympics, 26-year-old Dan Humphries, from Rogiet, has returned from Turin after a respectable performance for the British bobsleigh team.

Humphries placed 15th in the two-man event, followed up with a 17th in the four-man event last weekend. In the latter, he and his Great Britain teammates successfully beat a Canadian foursome into 18th, but Germany took gold in both disciplines as they swept the board at the Games.

Humphries has only been bobsledding for three years, and only seriously for the last two, which makes his proud showing at the Winter Olympics all the more impressive. He also confesses to hating the cold, shivering at the top of the run before sledding down at speeds equivalent of six Gs of force.

But he is far from put off and is already thinking about returning in 2010. He said: "Really, I'm still a baby and I'm learning all the time and just being at the Games was an achievement for me. I've caught the Olympic bug now and I definitely want more - I'll be 30 for Vancouver in 2010 and really in my prime.

"This is just the start for me - the best is still to come."

The RAF engineer added: "I'm grateful for the RAF's fantastic support because they allow me to focus full-time on my bobsleighing and I'm proud to represent my squadron at the Olympics. But if I don't perform they'll have me back fixing navigation systems in no time at all.

"I would not have it any other way and I'd be happy to do it, but my bobsleighing career is just beginning."