TWO troops from North Yorkshire are in final preparations for next month's Winter Olympics.

Soldier Tom Clemens, who is based at Catterick Garrison, and Karl Johnston, a Royal Marine from Whitby, will be in Turin for the 2006 Games, which start on February 10.

Clemens, a corporal in the Army, is to compete in the 20-kilometre individual biathlon - his preferred discipline - and the 10km sprint biathlon, while Johnston is part of Great Britain's bobsleigh squad and will run in the four-man category.

For Clemens, who turns 30 in two days' time, it is particularly pleasing as he just missed out on selection to the last Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, USA, two years ago having been in indifferent form at the time the team was chosen.

Biathlon Team Leader for Turin, Jason Skelnar, a former Olympian who is also Clemens' coach, said: "Tom has secured his place in Team GB after 11 years of hard training and has overcome his disappointment on missing out on Salt Lake City."

Epping-born Clemens began his biathlon career as a teenager in the Army in 1994, making his international debut two years later in Finland.

Biathlon basically comprises cross-country skiing combined with shooting. Competitors stop at certain sections to fire five shots at a target, with each one missed bringing a time penalty.

Johnston, who turns 27 in the week he returns from Italy, is a captain in the Marines.

He followed his Taunton-based brother, Lee, into the sport of bobsleigh, with his first taste of action coming when he pushed Lee - who is also in the GB squad for Turin - as a 'guest' bob at the Army Novice Championships at Winterberg in 2000.

However, it wasn't until three years later that he properly took up the sport at the Army Ice Camp at Lillehammer, Norway.

He quickly proved himself to be a capable all-round athlete and bobsleigh brakeman in particular, with his first competitive race being alongside Lee at the 2004 Inter-Services championships, which was followed in October that year by selection for the GB Team.

He has since won the 'Inter-Service Fastest Brakeman Trophy', while his exploits on the World Cup circuit as part of the GB four-man squad have established him firmly as part of Lee's team.

Updated: 09:39 Saturday, January 28, 2006