Two Australian athletes failed to recover from injuries incurred during earlier training sessions on the notorious bobsled track at Whistler Mountain, and so yesterday the team were forced to withdraw from the four-man Olympic bobsleigh event.

The Australian chef-de-mission said the decision had been well considered, as everyone was very aware what a privilege it was to be able to represent their country at the Olympics, but said that they had no option but to err on the side of caution where the competitors' health was involved.  

There has been a number of high speed crashes on the track and officials yesterday said they were making moves to improve safety by shaving back snow on some of the worst bends.