Meanwhile, British reigning world champions Nicola Minichiello and Gillian Cooke had a mixed training session ahead of the women's two-man bobsleigh event, which starts on Wednesday (0100 GMT).

BBC: Whistler Olympic bobsleigh track to be tamed

Gillian Cooke arrived at the Games with Nicola Minichiello as world champions in the two-woman bobsleigh, but their form had dropped and they sat in 10th after two runs and crashed in their third.

BBC: No cold comfort for Scots at Olympic Games

Politicians' ritual slanging matches should not be allowed to distract Canadians from weightier battles, such as the bobsleigh, the giant slalom or round-robin curling.

ECONOMIST: Canada's Parliament: Harper goes prorogue | The

The result saw Germany become the first country to unite all three Olympic bobsleigh titles, having already captured the two-man and women's titles.

BBC: SPORT | Other Sport... | Winter Sports | Lange seals second bobsleigh gold

The track at Whistler, which is shared by the sports of luge, skeleton and bobsleigh, already has a reputation as one of the fastest - and most dangerous - in the world.

BBC: Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili dies after crash

Bronze medallist Alex Coomber, the women's bobsleigh team, luger Mark Hatton, speed skater Debbie Palmer - and of course Fiona MacDonald's husband Ewan, were whistling and cheering every time our girls blasted the Swiss stone or added another point to the scoreboard.

BBC: Britain's golden moment

Unfortunately Minichiello will miss the entire season - and the chance to defend her world crown - through injury but Paula Walker has stepped up to drive the GB1 bobsleigh.

BBC: From bobsleighing to Afghanistan

This week Ludmilla Engquist, an Olympic gold-medal hurdler in 1996 and still part of Sweden's potential Olympic bobsleigh team, confessed to taking anabolic steroids.

ECONOMIST: Or so they used to say