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Why Sarah Hendrickson is Your New Olympic Hero

Because the U.S. Olympic teams like to play it fast and loose, the historic women's ski jumping team was only just announced, a few weeks prior to the start of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Notably present in the lineup of athletes was world champion ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson, who was feared to be out of the running thanks to an injury she suffered in April. However, the talented skier is officially headed to Sochi to compete for the gold despite missing out on a good six months of training in 2013. She certainly puts your excuse to take a sick day with the sniffles to shame.

Of course, Hendrickson isn't a complete miracle. She did earn her spot on the team by finishing second overall in the World Cup standings this December — and all with only a fraction of the training her competitors had under their belts. Clearly, Hendrickson is working with some God-given talent in addition to her sound work ethic.

Naturally, this rising star is going to be one to watch going into the winter games and you can either keep up with the Joneses once she becomes an Olympic super star and starts booking cameos on CW shows, or you can be the one in the know before all that happens. (Hint: being in the know is the far better option.)

She's Making History

Along with her teammates Lindsey Van and Jessica Jerome, Sarah Hendrickson stands a chance of becoming the first woman to win a ski jumping medal for the U.S. These three ladies are going to Sochi to compete in the first ever women's Olympic level ski jumping competition, meaning they've already made history and are only a few excellent jumps away from doing it again.

Back on Top After Only 50 Jumps

Typically, a ski jumper does 300 jumps as practice throughout summer training. Hendrickson performed only 50 as a result of her injuries, but then she competed and nabbed the number two spot in the World Cup standings in December. Talk about mind over matter; this lady does not accept "the odds aren't in your favor" as an answer.

Natural Born Skier

As the child of an athletic Utah family, Hendrickson was practically born into skiing. She was on skis by age two, and clearly, that worked out pretty well for her.

Her Hobbies? More Super Challenging Athletic Feats

Because of course, a skier with downtime would go running, hiking, and biking. Apparently, she wasn't making us feel guilty enough for skipping the gym during the Polar Vortex as it was.

She's a Youngin'

At only 19, she's considered to be something of a ski veteran already, though her fellow veteran teammates Lindsey Van and Jessica Jerome are both in their late 20s. Even if Hendrickson doesn't nab gold this time, at her age, she'll have plenty more chances to do so.