(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] This Olympic freestyle aerialist skier
is living up to her name,
Winter Vinecki.
- It's kind of mind-boggling to me
that there hasn't been another Winter
in the Winter Olympics yet,
but I think it's really neat.
- [Narrator] While Winter Vinecki
didn't get her start flying through the air,
doing amazing things,
she was always a determined athlete.
- Basically by the age of five,
I had a really strong intuition
that I was gonna have my hands full with Winter and sports.
(people cheering)
- [Narrator] And she didn't have to look far
for inspiration.
- She literally saw me doing duathlons and triathlons
from a very young age.
We became the first mother daughter in the world
to run a marathon on every continent.
- [Narrator] And at the finish line was Winter's dad,
Michael.
- My dad was a big kid at heart.
He always had the brightest smile on his face
and always loved just playing with us when we were younger.
He would build snow forts for us,
take us on snowmobiles.
It was really special to be able to have that time,
especially looking back
since we only had,
for me, nine, 10 years with him.
- So, Michael was the epitome of health.
He was young and energetic
and an incredible father.
So at 40, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer
and a very aggressive form of prostate cancer
that had already spread to his liver,
it came as a complete shock.
Having to tell my kids that their dad had cancer
was probably the toughest thing I had to do.
- [Narrator] Winter and her family found strength and focus
after her dad's passing.
- He sacrificed a lot of his dreams
to wait till we were a bit older.
He put off a lot of the stuff that he wanted to do.
And so, looking back,
he really just taught me the importance
of not waiting until tomorrow
to do what you're capable of doing today,
but also to have fun,
be kind to others and enjoy the ride.
- [Narrator] She started Team Winter,
a foundation that raises money for prostate cancer.
It was there she met an Olympic aerialist
who introduced her to the sport.
And with her mum's support,
Winter moved away from home at 13 to train.
- My mom is definitely one of the strongest,
most fierce woman I've ever seen in my life.
She not only raised us four kids by herself
when our dad passed away,
but she really taught me to see it all,
do it all, be it all.
- I literally said, "Here we go."
I've always been super supportive of my kids
in chasing their dreams and their endeavors
and I'm always a hundred percent in
from the second my kids set a goal.
- [Narrator] From that point on,
Winter never looked back.
- A lot of aerial skiers do have background in gymnastics
or some sort of acrobatics,
trampoline, cheerleading,
but I didn't have any of that.
- She had to learn the discipline of training
and are very rigid training schedule.
She had to learn how to fuel her body for success
and listen to what her body was telling her
and the competitive drive that it gave her
set her up for success to get to where she's at today.
Good job.
- There's definitely fear involved in this sport.
We are coming into the jump at 50,
55 kilometers per hour.
(spectators cheer)
But at the end of the day,
it's about overcoming that fear
and finding ways to say,
"Okay, you know, I've done the training,
I know how to do this."
(spectators cheer)
- [Narrator] Winter credit's hard work
and her family's unwavering support for her success.
- There's no way I would ever be able to do it without them.
Here's marathon number two,
Amazing Maasai Marathon.
- Oh yes. - Holy cow, you fit into this?
- I know (laughs).
They're not only my biggest supporters,
but they also just help me stay grounded
and feel like I have a place to come back to,
to be able to relax after those hard stressful months
on the road of competitions.
And
uey!
Being part of Team USA is a dream come true.
It's the culmination of years and years
of hard work and sacrifices.
I'm just super excited to get over there and get jumping.
It's the biggest stage in the world
and I can't wait to be standing on top of that hill
with all the other amazing athletes
and to know that all my years of hard work have paid off.