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WINTER OLYMPICS:THE BRAKEWOMAN, as every bobsledder knows, doesn’t dare touch the breaks until the end of the run. Instead, the brakewoman nearly breaks her back trying to get the sled up to speed, while the pilot jumps in, casually enough. Then they hold on for dear life, as the whole thing goes hurtling between walls of ice at up to 160kph. The adrenaline rush, they say, is as good as a bungee jump.

“Well, I’ve a done bungee jump,” says Claire Bergin, the brakewoman. “It’s not quite the same thrill. Bobsleigh lasts much longer, and is much more exciting.”