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DRAPER -- You've probably heard the term "reaching new heights." Well, never has it been more true for a Draper woman.
She went to last week's Olympic trials hoping to place and ended winning first place, becoming the first woman selected for the 2010 Olympic Aerials ski team.
Twenty-four-year-old Lacy Schnoor was born and bred in Draper, and is now very excited to be Olympic-bound.
"It hasn't quite hit me," Schnoor said. "I don't think it will hit me until I go to Opening Ceremonies."
The top two contenders fell after their jumps, leaving the door wide open for Schnoor.
"I was more or less the underdog," Schnoor said.
But her quest for Olympic gold didn't start on the mountain. I started in a gym - a gymnastics gym to be exact.
"I grew up doing gymnastics. I actually went to Bailey's Gymnastics in Draper," Schnoor said.
Olympic recruiters found her at her middle school and liked what they saw. She says since then, training and competition has been a bit rocky at times. She's overcome multiple injuries, including two knee reconstructions, but Schnoor is now healthy and has some serious moves planned for Vancouver.
"Two triple twisting doubles, and the first one I do is a full double full," Schnoor explained. "So, that's a 360 in the first flip and a 720 in the second flip; and then I reverse that in my second jump, and I do a double full full."
If you think it sounds complicated, try doing it while soaring above a steep slope and trying to stick the landing.
"I'm excited to go to the Olympics, but mostly I just want to go there and do well," Schoor said. "So now I'm concentrating on that and concentrating on my training."
She says her goal is to make it on the podium.
"I don't think I'm the underdog anymore. I think I'm starting to come up," Schoor said.
Once the "underdog", now she's the "top dog," heading straight for Vancouver.
Schnoor said she is most concerned about the noise from crowds at the 2010 Winter Games. She's planning to take her iPod with her on the mountain to help keep her focused.
E-mail: jstagg@ksl.com
