Heard the one about the nightclub bouncer and the ballerina? Or the tale of the guy who learned to slide on ice at breakneck speed by wearing shoes made from cheese graters?

They have all found a home in the helter-skelter, head-first world of skeleton racing, and they are bringing a collection of colorful back stories to the Olympic Games.

Swiss-born Alexandros Kefalas, 29, one of the few Greek athletes in Sochi, told AFP that just five years ago he could not imagine being a Winter Olympian.