Reaching New Heights by Natalie Davis Miller

Author:Natalie Davis Miller [Miller, Natalie Davis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780310725435
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Published: 2012-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

We Fall Down, We Get Up —

The 2006 Winter Olympics

Kelly again represented the United States as a snowboarder in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Only this time, in addition to bringing her mad skills to the pipe, Kelly brought God along for the ride. Having her faith in check made dealing with the ultimate outcome of the ‘06 Olympics easier. In what should have been a stellar, medal-earning performance for Kelly, the worst imaginable thing happened — she crashed.

Heading into the finals, Kelly had won the qualifier and was seeded in the best place. Kelly described her first run as not her most technical run. If anything, it was a safe run, which landed her in third place. “In talking with my coach, I really had to make up my mind and ask myself what I was going to be happy with — would I be happy with what I attempted? I didn’t want to be thinking back on this Olympic experience later in life and saying, ‘Wow, I wish I [hadn’t] played it safe. I wish I had really given it my all because who knows what the possibility could have been?’”

So there she was in third place. Being the competitor that she was, Kelly wanted to go for it, holding nothing back. “I’m a risk taker, but I’m a calculated risk taker,” said Kelly. She told her coach she was attempting her hardest run. “That’s what I’m going to be happy with at the end of the day, regardless of what the outcome will be.” As Kelly waited her turn, the rider before her scored well and bumped Kelly to fourth place.

“So here I am, there are only two people behind me that are already ahead of me in the standings, and I’ve got one opportunity left,” said Kelly. “I knew I couldn’t change my approach based on what was going on around me. That’s one of the things I’ve learned as a person through snowboarding — it essentially comes down to really living from the inside out; making your decisions and making up your mind before you get there.”

Kelly knew it would have been easier to play it safe and do an easier run. She could have squeaked into third place. Instead, she chose to do what she’d set out to do — the run of her life. What she got for her efforts was fourth place — what Kelly heartbreakingly refers to as “first loser.” Kelly went through a series of tricks — a 12-foot frontside air, two back-to-back 540s, and a 900 — but she caught the edge on her last landing, which caused her to just barely set down.

Ricky Bower, the U.S. Snowboarding Halfpipe Coach for the 2014 Winter Olympics, saw Kelly’s run as the biggest run ever done by a woman in the finals. More than likely she would have won the contest if she had landed after her trick. “Kelly’s run stood out more than the winning run that day because of the sheer size of all her tricks.

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