As much as I wanted to grow wings for the climbs, what I really needed was a drag chute for the downhills. I almost flew right out of the tracks going over one of the bumps – the wind caught me up and pulled me out of my tuck, and I thought “if I fall here, I’m not only going to have a bad race – I’m straight up gonna die” so I pulled it together and told myself, out loud, to focus on the corners.

When I came through the stadium for my second lap, Astrid Jacobsen tracked me and I practically jumped out of the way. Growing up hearing about her and the rest of the Norwegian women, it was like being tracked by Wonderwoman. I tried to hang onto her but she passed me like I was standing still!

Boy, that second lap was tough. I was definitely coming unglued and even the coaches noticed I looked “a little rough”. Thanks to them for putting it so delicately, because that probably means I was visibly struggling with the enormous climbs. But I held it together long enough to cross the line for my best result of the year – 18th! The best part about this is that North America put four women in the top 30 today. WHoo!