Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
VANCOUVER -- Olympic athlete Jana Lindsey knows the competition is tough this year in freestyle aerials.
Before Lindsey headed to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, she sat down with KSL to talk about her biggest challenge in the games.
This is her second Winter Olympics; she competed in 2006 in Torino also. She's especially excited for these Olympics, because they're in Canada.
Related:
"It's really close to home, which is exciting," Lindsey said.
That means most of her family will make the trip across the border to cheer her on.
"I like having them there, and they've always been such a huge support to me," Lindsey said. "It's fun that they can cheer me on and see what I'm doing."
Born in South Dakota, Lindsey now lives in Park City where she trains with her teammates, a home away from home for her.
"When I was 10 years old I came here for the first time, so it's always felt like a second home to me," she said. "It's nice to be here full time."
Lindsey says she loves her sport because she gets to do the two things she is good at.
VIDEO:
How to land from 50 feet in the air
Freestyle aerialists talk about how they land from five stories up in the air."I was a gymnast growing up, and when I saw aerials it kind of combined my two favorite sports," she said.
And this year in Vancouver, she knows she's going to have to do the best she has ever done.
"Some of the women are doing amazing this year," she said. "There are some big tricks being thrown by the women, so I have to put down four really good jumps. That's going to be my biggest challenge for sure."
Lindsey and her team will have several days in Vancouver to acclimate before they compete, and she hopes to take it all in.
"You get to see so many great athletes, athletes that I look up to," she said. I remember in Turin seeing figure skaters and other big-name athletes, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I can't believe I am in the same room as these people! This is unreal."
So does Lindsey get nervous when she's flying high, twisting and turning?
"I do get nervous, probably nervous now that I'm older, the past four or five years," she said.
As for another Olympics for Lindsey, she doesn't know. At 25 years old, she says she can feel her body getting tired and sore, so she'll see after these Olympics.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
