5 Questions with world champion Noelle Pikus-Pace

Orem native and Mountain View High alum Noelle Pikus-Pace is a world champion skeleton athlete favored by many to win a medal in the 2006 Olympic Games. Then in a freak accident in October of 2005, she was hit by a sled and suffered a broken leg that still causes her pain. She won a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in October with the top female time and is on track to earn a long-awaited trip to the 2010 Winter Games. She lives in Eagle Mountain with her husband and 2-year-old daughter. She took some time with Deseret News sports writer Amy Donaldson to answer some questions at the first World Cup of this season in Park City.

Question: How did you avoid sinking into self-pity after the accident?

Answer: I don't think I ever did. I felt I had two choices — move forward or look back. I was planning on retiring after the Olympics in 2006. And then, after the accident, my husband and I both decided it wasn't time for me to be done. My dream has always been the Olympics.

Question: You have said fear and family concerns have been a distraction at times. How have you dealt with that?

Answer: I feel like I'm there now. A lot of it was that my heart was at home with my daughter and my husband. It probably started with the accident and then I have just never been able to get back into that mode. I feel like I am back now. My husband and Lacee, that's why I'm doing this. This is their dream, too.

Question: Your husband built the sled you are using this year. How did that come about and has it made a difference?

A: After the accident, I really wasn't comfortable on the sled. I know people don't randomly build a piece of equipment, but he said, "I really want to do this for you." I really feel comfortable to be on it. … He is as into this as I am and that's what it's taken.

Question: When did you first start to see the Olympics as a realistic goal?

Answer: When I was younger, I played softball and ran track, so I was always looking at the Summer Games. I got involved in the skeleton program (at the Utah Olympic Park) … and just before the 2002 games, I was competing (in skeleton).

Question: What is it like to feel a trip to the Olympics is within your reach?

Answer: It's kind of like a little kid waiting for Christmas, all the anticipation. It isn't just about me anymore. It's more than that. In 2005, there was so much pressure (she was favored to win). This time, it's nice. I can relax. There is no pressure; nobody expects that from me. At the same time, I feel very confident in how I am doing.