PyeongChang: Funding anxiety, long periods away from home and a training crash might all be worth it for Australia's four-man bobsleigh team as they begin their PyeongChang campaign.
Driver Lucas Mata, Lachlan Reidy, Hayden Smith and David Mari will aim to eclipse the country's best showing in the event at a Winter Olympics since a 20th placing at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.
But they'll have to improve significantly on their lead-in form, with preparation punctuated by a training crash, ice burns and scrapes.
The foursome came unstuck on their fourth of six training runs, making a mistake entering corner 12 of the track, resulting in their sled tipping over into corner 15.
But they recovered to complete Friday's final two warm-up runs in solid time, averaging the 23rd-fastest run down Alpensia Sliding Centre in their five completed attempts.
Mata took the blame for the crash, citing fatigue from spending six months overseas training in the lead-up to the Games.
"I made a mistake and that was it. Crashes happen in the sport so I just brushed it off. The boys are good and we're ready to go," he said.
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"I actually came through there really nice today. I haven't been struggling there all week. It was just probably a tired mistake and today was perfect.
"I think it's more the six-month journey that has made me tired rather than the 50-second race. It hasn't really been a struggle – it's just been a long season.
"We all arrived in Calgary in August, September, and have basically been together training, sliding the whole way until now."
Australia have long been an also-ran in Olympic bobsleigh, which was again the case as Mata and Mari were 22nd this week in the two-man.
The four-man team will need to overcome challenges which have proved too great in the past, which include chronic funding shortages in the resource-driven sport.
The country's elite sledders are offered as little as hundreds of dollars in financial backing, a situation which had prompted Australian Olympian Chris Spring to swap allegiances to Canada.
Spring was eighth in the two-man and will pilot his adopted country in the four- man.
Australia, also unable to afford their own sleds, have struck deals with rival federations to borrow theirs, this time the Netherlands, adding another layer to their difficulties.
"If you rent a sled during a race, it's cheaper but you only get to see that sled for a short amount of time," Mata said.
"If you have your own sled, you can get used to the steering and stuff like that in each sled."
AAP
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