Soule, 29, is representing the U.S. at the 2002 Games in skeleton, a sport making its Olympic debut in Salt Lake City. It's a sport he has made a name for himself in, quickly earning a place among the world's elite. Soule dominated the 2001-2002 World Cup season, medalling in every skeleton event, including his first gold performance at the finale in St. Moritz, Switzerland. As a result, the Connecticut-native enters the Olympics ranked second in the world.

Soule talks about his introduction to a sport considered by many to be rare and dangerous. He also describes some of his most extreme experiences, including a skeleton accident that left his hand sliced down the middle as well as his Hollywood debut jumping out of helicopters in the movie, GI Jane.

Q1: What were you like as a kid and did your childhood influence your love for extreme sports now?

CHRIS SOULE: I guess that I was a firecracker when I was younger. I wound up hurting myself a couple times by setting pulleys up between a couple of trees and sliding down between them. I have done my fair share of bridge jumping and things of that sort. I was kind of a wild kid and that led me to the path that I am on right now.

Q2: Skeleton isn't exactly a common sport. How did you get your start?

CHRIS SOULE: I was living in Lake Placid, N.Y. I had friends that were living in the area and had decided to move to Lake Placid to do some snowboarding and mountain bike racing during the summers. My friends in the area were all involved with one sport or another. My neighbor was a two-time luger in the Olympics and I was also working with (teammate) Jim Shea Jr. in one of the restaurants in town. I was cooking and he was a waiter. Jim, my other friend, Brian, and I were building this bobsled and took it out the first day the track opened in Placid. I went down in a bobsled my first day, but people also urged me to try skeleton. I jumped on the skeleton, whipped down the hill the first time and fell in love with it. I was actually supposed to go to the half-mile, which is where people start, but they took me right up to the top and pushed me off on my second trip. That is how I was introduced to the sport. It started out as kind of a rugged trip, but the old Lake Placid track taught me to drive pretty quickly and I have been in love with the sport ever since.

Q3: You mentioned that your neighbor in Lake Placid was a luger. Do you think that there is an unspoken rivalry between luge and skeleton athletes?

CHRIS SOULE: I don't think so at all. I think that we have our own goals and are all shooting for the same thing. I am actually friends with a lot of the lugers. I respect what they do and I think that they respect what I do-it is just a different format. As with any of the athletes, there is competition-time and time when you are away from the sport. The personalities that are on the luge team are really interesting and I enjoy hanging out with them.

Q4: Can you describe what it is like to fly down the track at 80 mph with your chin just inches from the ice?

CHRIS SOULE: There is nothing that I can really compare it to. I have done some things that are on the edge-bridge jumping and jumping out of helicopters for stunts. But, really nothing compares to being that close to the ice and just hauling it at 80 mph down the hill. It could be compared to motorcycle riding or something of that sort, with sharp steering and handling g-forces.

Q5: What was it like doing stunts for the movie, "GI Jane," and how does stuntwork compare to competing in skeleton?

CHRIS SOULE: I actually did stunts for them for three and a half months. I did everything from heel-casting, which is where I jump out of a helicopter into the water at 30 ft. up and 30 knots, to cast and recovery, where I jump off boats at 20 knots into the water. I also did a fall for one of the guys, Flea, in the film. But, I think that I took it on as the same sort of challenge as I did with skeleton. I planned the whole thing out and went over the routine a bunch of times before I actually executed it. I just prepared myself mentally and physically so that I could handle whatever stunt I was doing. I really enjoy it because it is similar in the fact that you are right in the moment and handling things as they happen and those challenges are really appealing to me.

Q6: What is the most violent crash you have had so far in skeleton?

CHRIS SOULE: Crash? I don't know what you're talking about. Actually, during my first year, I was getting pretty crazy and I pushed myself hard on the old Lake Placid track. It was one of those tracks that the Europeans boycotted because it was so aggressive. During my first year, it was during National Team Trials, and I figured that I was going to end the season on a big note. I was in this section of the track that was really tough, and my hand came off my sled. As I was trying to put it back on, it got caught between the sled and the wall, and the pressure just split my hand right down the center of it. I made it down the track and pulled my glove off and it was all split-open and bleeding. Basically, that has been the worst thing that has happened so far. People go down and bump their heads. I have actually picked a teammate up off the track after he got knocked out in La Plagne [France], but for the most part, the sport is pretty safe when you get to the level that we are at.

Q7: How does skeleton rank in danger compared to some of the other Winter Olympics sports?

CHRIS SOULE: Actually, it is not the most dangerous sport out there. I look at those aerialists and they hurl themselves 40 to 50 feet into the air, flipping around. The potential of them crashing is a lot greater than us going down the hill. We actually prepare year-round for our event. Not that the other sports don't, but ours is almost like a routine where we go down the track, take as many trips as we can and plan out our route before we actually go down. It's pretty much a controlled environment because the track has lips in it and they all go through inspection and the safety factor is right there. People do get injured every once in a while by bumping off the walls and scraping their arms or chipping their chins on the ice, but for the most part, I think that it's a pretty safe sport.

Q8: How fast is the Olympic track in Utah?

CHRIS SOULE: This track has the highest average speed of any track in the world. You get going really fast right off the bat and that is unlike a lot of the tracks that I practice on and compete on. Usually, you build up a high speed and maintain a high speed going down the track, but this one just maximized the pitch that's allowed right off the bat.

Q9: How do you prepare yourself to compete in something as big as the Olympics?

CHRIS SOULE: As far as preparation, there are a couple things that I am working on. I am preparing myself mentally for my first Olympics; with the crowd being as large as it is going to be, I have to be more prepared than I ever have been. That may be a bit of a shock. On the physical side of it, I want to make sure that my body is ready for the event ahead and I know that everyone else is going to be at the top of their game for the Olympics. I am going to have to make sure that I am more prepared than the next guy.

Q10: Does that preparation go as far as envisioning yourself on the podium?

CHRIS SOULE: Of course. When I set my goals, I try to aim for the highest thing possible. I have to have a realistic outlook on things; but, based on how things have been panning out this year, I think that I have a shot at being on the podium. If I am going to dream, I might as well dream big.