Canadian freestyler Heil in prime position for Vancouver

"First" is not a foreign word to Jennifer Heil. The freestyle skier's life has been full of firsts.

And this year, with her moguls event kicking off the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, she could be the first Canadian to win a medal at this year's Games, and the first Canadian to ever to capture Olympic gold on home soil.

"Honestly, I feel like I won the lottery," said the 26-year-old from Spruce Grove, Alta.

Winning in Vancouver isn't a pipe dream. The unassuming five-foot-four McGill University student has won gold before - at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, where she became the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in her sport.

"I've shown myself that I can do it … and to have the opportunity to compete in your home country in an Olympics is incredible," Heil said.

Her coach, Dominick Gauthier, who is her boyfriend, also knows she can do it.

"When it comes to focus, she is unbeatable, you can see it in her eyes at the top of the course," he said.

Embracing the pressure

Vancouver 2010 will be Heil's third Olympics. At the Salt Lake Games in 2002, as the youngest Team Canada athlete, she came within one one-hundredth of a point of winning a bronze medal. She says she embraces the pressure that can come from being in the opening events.

"I've actually competed on Day 1 at each Olympics, so this is all I know," Heil said. "I find it really exciting."

It's no surprise to her dad, Randy Heil, who had his daughter strapped to his back on the ski hills before she could walk.

Even at a young age, he said, "Jennifer used to just go bobbing through the moguls because she didn't know any better. She learned on the steep hills; she didn't learn on the flats."

He always knew she was destined for something big.

"When she was just weeks old, I fluttered my hands across her face, and she reached up and just grabbed my hand, and I thought, 'Holy mackerel, this kid's an athlete'," he said.

His instincts were right.

In addition to Olympic success, Heil's taken the world cup circuit by storm - winning the overall title in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

In 2005 and 2007, she was crowned world champion by the International Ski Federation (FIS) in dual moguls and has 19 career world cup victories.

Gauthier is quick to point out another lesser-known accomplishment.

"In 2007, in Japan, on the most difficult course, Jenn would have finished in the top 10 in the men's category. Never did a girl even come close to a top 20," he said.

There are the other impressive stats, too, including 36 world cup podium finishes and a second overall in the 2008-2009 world cup circuit, which she achieved after missing the entire 2007-2008 season.

Learning to walk again

Heil knows there's a reason behind her slight drop in rankings.

During her year off, which she took by choice, she went back to square one.

"I essentially learned how to walk again," she said.

"We all have positions where we're the most efficient, and over time … we kind of fall out of that efficient position," she continued. "I wanted to rebalance my body and change the way it functions on the ski hill."

Undergoing various types of therapy on a daily basis, she learned how to walk in a new way.

"My trainer was telling me to roll my foot in, to twist my knee out, to lift my spine up. Basically, every vertebrae she was watching to help reinforce the good movement pattern," Heil said.

The work is paying off.

"It did take the full season, but all those pieces I tore apart and started to put back together, I really feel like they're all coming back together," she said. "I'm able to ski faster now."

Gauthier agrees.

"Her body reacts to training like no one else. Jenn is a Ferrari and she is an amazing driver of her body," he said. "She feels everything, like a good driver who feels something is wrong with the back wheel before the computer even brings it up."

Advantage Heil

A speedier Heil combined with a change to this year's Olympic course boosts her podium chances.

The two jumps have been shifted farther apart, allowing Heil, known for her speed, to use the longer mid-section of skiing to her advantage. In addition, judges will put more emphasis on speed this year.

To ensure she stays in top form, Heil works out three times a day, six days a week, all so she can push herself on a course usually finished in 30 seconds or less.

"I had a workout this morning … and I came home, and I tried to open my house with my car keys," she said with a laugh. "You're just so out of it."

Despite the grueling regime, Heil knows every drop of sweat will be worth it.

"I'm so grateful that I have this opportunity," she said. "I mean, this is Canada's Games … I still have that hunger, and I'm in a pretty exciting spot."