The fire still burns for Jenny Lyons

JENNY LYONS only wants to compete against the best.

An elite athlete from a young age, the skier and three-time Winter Olympian believes the thrill of the chase was ingrained in her early.

“I love competing. I love the challenges you’re faced with every day, whether it’s in the gym or on the hill,” she said.

She fell into the sport almost by accident, giving it a try on a childhood trip to the snow and quickly finding she had a knack for it.

She progressed quickly, making it onto the dais at a competition in Austria at the age of 12. By 21, she had become an Australian national champion.

 

 

Her Alpine World Cup debut followed that same year, and at the age of 23, she secured a spot on the Australian team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

She went in with the goal of making the top 10 and came ninth. The result was Australia’s second-best in Olympics Alpine Skiing, behind Zali Steggall’s bronze medal.

“I reached my goal, which for me was like winning,” Lyons said.

But injury followed and the loss of her coach threw her career into turmoil. She opted to retire, but it didn’t last.

The emergence of the freestyle skiing discipline of ski cross inspired her to make a return. The event sees four competitors race down the track together: an untimed knockout race to the finish line. Lyons compares it to motocross or rally car driving.

After securing a number of podium finishes on the World Cup circuit, Lyons found herself approaching the 2010 Vancouver Games with an outside chance of medalling.

 

 

Injury struck again, and she went on to finish 13th overall.

“I had two surgeries, one six months out, four months out, and then another one three weeks before, so I knew going into the Olympics my medal chances were done,” Lyons said.

“Everyone hates the lows, but the lows are where you learn.”

She fought her way back again, securing podium finishes in the lead up to the 2014 Sochi Games. A campaign to be proud of, there she pushed through the quarter finals but just missed out on a shot at the semi-finals. She claimed 12th overall.

Then at 35, eager to start a family, Lyons made the decision to retire. It’s a decision she felt she was expected to make.

 

 

She’s the first to concede, like so many other professional athletes, she’s struggled to find herself outside of the sport. The feeling she has more to give has lingered.

“I loved the life that it gave me. That’s what keeps drawing me back. I miss what it gives me, as a person, as a mum, as a woman.

“I always say to people before they retire, just really be sure because I know you think the grass is greener. It’s really not. What you have in sport is just not out there in life.

“Some people transfer really well, but the majority of people do struggle. And I’m definitely one of those.”

 

 

Now 47, Lyons cannot stay away any longer. She’s back on the slopes and ready to take a run at her fourth Olympic campaign.

“I’ve always wanted to come back,” she said. “I just want to get back out there and compete, and I just decided that I had to.

“It’s the biggest sporting event in the world, and if you want to compare yourself to the best, that’s the best spot to do it.

“I love my kids. It’s not that I want to run away from them, but I want more. I just feel like there’s more to life than just being a mum and going to work every day, earning money to pay the bills.

“My son and daughter are old enough now.”

 

 

She knows she’s not alone.

“I think it’s really good to encourage women later in life to just go and do something more, if you want that, if you need that.”

Several hurdles still lie ahead of her: Lyons still needs to secure a quota spot and qualify before the next games, set for Italy in February.

Her comeback has already proven an emotionally draining ride, but still the challenge, the need to problem solve, to find a way through tough terrain, retains the same thrill.

 

 

She’s going in with no expectations but remains confident she can be competitive. How competitive? That’s what she’s hoping to find out.

“Let’s show them that age doesn’t matter. What is the age that you are too old now? I’m curious to know what that is.

“It could be now; it could be 50, I don’t know. But I feel if I have a good year and I do well, why would I stop?

“I’m not a quitter. If someone tells me ‘No’, I find a way to get a ‘Yes’.”

To follow her journey, follow @jennyowens_oly on Instagram.