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Muscles that I didn’t even know existed
Canadian Jennifer Heil, 18, became one of the youngest skiers to win a World Cup medal when she won silver in moguls at the 2001 Mondial Ericsson World Cup event. Nicknamed "Little Pepper," Heil was the 2000 national champion in single and double moguls. Check out Heil's CNNSI.com diary as she trains for the 2002 Olympic Games.
August 20, 2001
My continual preparation for the Olympic Games has landed me in the Province of Quebec, Canada. I am here working with an amazing group of professional trainers and physiotherapists. A chronic case of shin splints has plagued me over the past few seasons. In the sport of mogul skiing this becomes a serious problem. Approximately 70 moguls develop are in a mogul field with two aerial jumps cutting the course into three sections. Each mogul is absorbed by the legs, helping to accelerate the body through the course. The body also absorbs the landing of the jumps. Because repetition is needed to perfect technique and to learn new skills the shins have become quite sore.
A lot of competitive athletes at some time or another experience a weak spot in their bodies. However, I have not been able to train and compete as effectively as I would like due to the accumulating problem. An amazing team of people is surrounding me this summer to combat the problem. Thanks to the program Podium 2002 and the grant awarded to me this has all been possible. Every amateur athlete feels the extra funding and interest shown towards him or her. Top performances could not be attained without this help. Here in the scorching heat of Montreal, I am becoming aware of muscles that I didn't even know existed! Not only am I training in the gym lifting weights but I'm also running sprints and doing plyometrics to train the explosive aspect of mogul skiing. Next week I will be off to Lake Placid to train on the water ramps. A plastic material covers a ramp in which we rocket down in our skis and ski boots to fly through the air. Instead of landing on a sloped hill covered in snow we are greeted by a pool of water. This is a great place to learn new aerial maneuvers, for the mogul course in water is more forgiving then the snow! The next few months of training are going to be intense. However, every moment is being enjoyed. I have been extremely lucky to meet some very remarkable people. Passion is seen within their eyes, those eyes are living in the moment and truly enjoying life for what it is. To me, there is nothing greater than passion -- no matter what you do! Passion is what sends me speeding through a mogul field and flying off jumps! -- Jennifer
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