The Road to Sochi for a Local Skier

The 2014 Winter Olympics may seem a long way off right now, but if you are an athlete aiming to be there, it is drawing closer fast. Ayana Onozuka is a skier from Shiozawa with her sights firmly set on competing in the Women's Half Pipe at Sochi.

Like many Snow Country kids she spent a lot of time on skis and ended up racing. She notched up some impressive results but spent her free time when not training, messing about in the park and pipe. This is where she is now concentrating her efforts and she admits she genuinely enjoys her sport. She's appeared at the Nissan X-Trail Jam in the Tokyo Dome and also placed in the Nippon Free Ski Open Half Pipe. She's currently over in the States training and eyeing up the AFP Tour.

You can keep up to speed with Ayana Onozuka on her blog or really get behind her and join her Official Supporters Club, which is getting a good uptake from local businesses and her home mountain of Ishiuchi Maruyama.

The countdown to Sochi on her website is 800 days at the moment. A long physical road but one that is likely to pass in a flash. We wish her the best of luck and will be cheering for her every step of the way.