CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Paris Olympics are underway and athletes from around the world are competing on the biggest stage and former athletes are looking back on their competitive days from afar.
Ola Kamieniecki was on track to represent Poland in the 2014 Winter Olympics, but sadly, an injury prevented her from making it. She's now taking her injury and going for gold in a different way.
Kamieniecki was known for her jumps, making beautiful leaps of faith into the air. She was born in Canada and moved to Phoenix when she was 4 years old when she stumbled upon an ice rink.
"The only cold location was an ice rink," she said. "That's where I built my first snowman."
And that's also where she built her Olympic dream, as a way to escape the heat turned into a different kind of escape.
"I flew to Texas to train with a Russian coach because my coach in Arizona said she had nothing else to offer," Kamieniecki said.
She gracefully glided her way to the top with her eyes set on the world's stage, hoping to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in figure skating. She was going to represent her mother's home country of Poland.
"I had no idea," Kamieniecki said. "That little girl just wanted to be a skater.”
Her smooth plan to success turned rough when she developed an injury during the Olympic qualifying season. She watched the 2014 Olympics in a boot and her dreams of winning a gold medal were tarnished.
That's when she took another leap, turning her passion for sports into a way to help other athletes. Years later, Kamieniecki is a third-year medical resident with Novant Health, trading her skates for a stethoscope and specializing in sports medicine.
“I was very curious about all the injuries in the human body and why I had developed so many injuries," Kamieniecki said. "It definitely pushed me to jump to medicine. There are a few patients who have had the athletic experience and think about medicine."
She wanted to help people just like her. And when life performed a triple axle, Kamieniecki stuck the landing.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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