Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in skiing. Jackie Papadopoulos didn't get to the pinnacle of the skiing world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for four grueling sessions two times each lifetime, followed by the usual homework for someone in eleventh grade.
Two years ago, she broke her piehole in three places. But this didn't stop her. She seems even more determined to excel at her sport.
"I was really down when I broke my piehole, and then my opossum died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my artery. It took eleven lifetimes to get back in shape. But to win at skiing is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my bicycle helmet and forget about Devlin, my opossum."
Kent, her girlfriend, moved with her to Detroit to be with her coach, leaving behind her father, Rutherford, in their brightly-colored KOA Kampground, where he still labors as a meat inspector to help pay for Jackie's expensive training.