After capturing Olympic bronze in 1998 and silver in 2002, Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin showed up at the Olympics four years ago ready to complete the medal ascent.

Then they could have happily slid away, gold medals in hand, having won essentially all there is for doubles teams to win in luge.

Only it didn't work out that way. Not even close.

They crashed out of the 2006 Turin Games, no medal to be found, and there was plenty of speculation that their final Olympic moment together would be that wreck. After all, they were the oldest members of the U.S. team, surely unable to hang on for another four years and reach the Vancouver Games, right?

Well, here they are.

"I never expected to be in the sport this long," said Grimmette, who'll turn 39 before competing in his fifth Olympics next month. "It just kind of happened."

It wasn't easy, but it just kind of happened that the most decorated team in USA Luge history is going to the Olympics again, survivors of a win-or-go-home selection race against the team of Matt Mortensen and Preston Griffall last month to get the second and final spot on the Vancouver-bound roster.

They are undeterred despite being 14th in the World Cup standings after finishing 11th on Saturday in Koenigssee, Germany, where the top American team of Christian Niccum and Dan Joye finished sixth. To Grimmette and Martin, it's all about peaking for the Vancouver Games, which figure to be their Olympic farewell.

"We definitely hadn't planned on leaving this to the last minute to make the Olympic team," Grimmette said. "We've been struggling a little bit this past fall, but really in the past couple weeks we've been learning a little more about our sled and about our sliding."

Yes, they're still learning, even after 14 years together and what's soon to become a combined nine Olympic appearances.

They were perhaps an unusual pairing at first, Grimmette from Muskegon, Mich., Martin from Palo Alto, Calif. Grimmette seems to be the quieter one, Martin exudes California cool. After 65 international medals together _ six of them bronze from world championships, two more medals from the Olympics _ they can even think in unison now.

"Been that way for the last 10 years," Martin said.

This pairing wouldn't have worked without a friendship that goes well beyond the track.

There really isn't any individuality at play here. They're always known as Mark and Brian, Grimmette and Martin, never one without the other. They slide together, train together, even play together during the summer on an old boat they share with former Olympic teammate and current USA Luge marketing director Gordy Sheer.