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Olympic dream
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.
October 15, 2001 I sat upon a big boulder overlooking the Spray Lakes Reservoir in Canmore. My mind was drifting away, and I was tugged back by Dave Toms, the CBC producer filming my Olympic profile, who asked, "Tell me Jennifer, when did this Olympic dream of yours first begin?" Old memories and feelings had been provoked that weekend that had some how been packed away and forgotten. But in remembering the inspiration of it all -- the dream -- I soon felt recharged. The origin of my dream, the fascination and love of the Games I cannot simply trace. I don't remember watching any competitor on television and saying, "I can do that!" However, I do remember my fascination with the '92 Barcelona Olympic preview of Sports Illustrated. I would just stare at it all day. Soon the Olympic rings and competitors were cut out and taped to my schoolbooks. Then in class, when it came time to do elementary research projects, mine were always about the Olympics. After handing in a project in grade two, my teacher told me she believed I could make it to the Olympic Games. She had planted the seed. My Olympic Dream continued to be fueled by those close to me. Although my passion was strong to reach my goal, without the encouragement and belief in my abilities from those around me it would not have been possible. My dreams and accomplishments are intricately linked to my family, friends, teachers and coaches -- just like the Olympic rings. Again, I am in Montreal completing the final stages of my pre-competition training. The trees are beginning to look bare and the sky seems about ready to let it snow. Each morning my bike brings me to meet my trainer. Instead of the standard leg-press and squats, I am greeted by doing my exercises balancing on medicine balls, voodoo boards and leaps up onto tables, not always making it safely to the top, I might add. But it creates a fresh approach and a program that seems to really be benefiting me on the ski hill. Ski hills are scarce in North America between May and November. But my trampoline seems to replicate a mogul course with a little help from my imagination. A couple times a week I join the gymnasts at the Multi-Sport Centre in Montreal to practice my aerial maneuvers. Watching the gymnasts, I am happy my sport does not call for the flips and twists that these girls perform. The trampoline is a great tool to do mogul like absorption in timed intervals. However, ironically mogul skiing seems much more difficult on a trampoline than in those bumps that line the ski hill! Because I still have couple hours left in my day, I fill the time with sport psychologists, nutritionists, and physios for my weekly tune-ups. I am very excited with my training and the phenomenal network of people around me. Montreal is a great place to train and an exciting city with much to encounter. Since being in Montreal I have been able to take in some sporting events watching the Montreal Alouettes and Montreal Canadians. It is very refreshing to watch and feel other athlete's energy, caught in a moment of passion within their sport. Soon I will be flying back to Switzerland to complete my third and final on-snow camp. Shortly after, the season opener will take place in Tignes France. And soon after that I will be on my way to the Olympic Games.
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
-- Jennifer
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