Skeleton

When Ander Mirambell told his family and friends he was going to compete in a sport where he would travel 130 kilometres-per-hour, headfirst on ice, they thought skeleton sounded crazy.

To Mirambell, 26, it sounded like his ticket to the Olympic Winter Games.

After finishing the skeleton season ranked 52nd overall, Mirambell's dream is coming true. He has qualified as one of the 17 athletes competing for Spain at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, and will be the first Spaniard to compete at the Olympics in the sport of bobsleigh/skeleton.

With a season-best finish of 21st on the World Cup circuit, Mirambell told the Associated Press that the pressure on him has lifted with his qualification. Less than two weeks ahead of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, the only task Mirambell has left is to live out the Olympic experience.

"There's no pressure because all that I've done up to this point has been incredible," Mirambell said, "Now it's time to enjoy."

Mirambell got into skeleton just five years ago. Living in Barcelona, he was more than 144 kilometres (90 miles) away from any snow so he trained on a boogie board on the beach and at a local hockey rink.

"With bobsled I needed a teammate and I couldn't find anyone. There was also the issue of equipment, so that narrowed it down to two things: luge and skeleton," Mirambell said. "The safer option was skeleton - it's less aggressive and a smoother sport to get into - while with bobsled and luge your chances of ending up in the hospital were higher."

Despite choosing the "safer option," Mirambell has already had a number of broken bones. Heading to the Olympics to compete on the fastest track in the world - the Whistler Sliding Centre - he knows he is risking further injury.

"It's a tough circuit that can kill you if you're not prepared. I'm not going there for vacation," Mirambell said.

Although Barcelona is set to bid for the 2022 Games, Mirambell isn't sure he'll still be competing. Still, he says it's important to him to show young Spaniards that they can compete in winter sports - especially since if its awarded the Winter Games, Barcelona will be getting its own bobsleigh track.

- With files from The Associated Press