Translator: Joseph Geni
Reviewer: Morton Bast
Life is about opportunities --
creating them and embracing them.
And for me, that was the Olympic dream.
That's what defined me. That was my bliss.
As a cross-country skier
and member of the Australian ski team
headed towards the Winter Olympics,
I was on a training bike ride
with my fellow teammates.
As we made our way up
towards the spectacular Blue Mountains
west of Sydney,
it was the perfect autumn day:
sunshine, the smell
of eucalypt and a dream.
Life was good.
We'd been on our bikes
for around five-and-a-half hours
when we got to the part
of the ride that I loved,
and that was the hills,
because I loved the hills.
I got up off the seat of my bike
and I started pumping my legs,
and as I sucked in the cold mountain air,
I could feel it burning my lungs,
and I looked up to see
the sun shining in my face.
And then everything went black.
Where was I? What was happening?
My body was consumed by pain.