4 years after injury heartbreak at Beijing, Vernon skier Elena Gaskell looks for redemption

Four years after a devastating injury rendered her unable to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Vernon skier Elena Gaskell is looking to redeem herself at the Milano-Cortina Games starting Saturday.

Gaskell, a freestyle skier, will compete for Canada in the slopestyle and big air categories — with slopestyle qualification kicking off Saturday morning.

While technically her Olympic debut, Gaskell had qualified for the games in Beijing four years ago and was a medal favourite.

But the 24-year-old tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in her knee just one day before what was supposed to have been her first Olympic event.

Elena Gaskell emotionally speaks about supporting teammates after knee injury in Beijing

Four years later — and after weathering another serious injury — Gaskell said there's understandable jitters going into Milano-Cortina, but she is blocking them out.

"I try and cut out the words of like, 'Don't get hurt,' or, like, 'try not to get hurt again,'" she told Sarah Penton, host of CBC's Radio West.

"It's just like, I'm gonna keep staying healthy. Like, I'm gonna keep moving forward," the athlete said. "I think progressing [in] your sport, you just have to, like, jump over fear at some points and not think about it."

After her injury four years ago, during an Olympics that was marked by strict COVID-19 protocols, Gaskell had to stay masked and walk around the Olympic Village in crutches as the rest of the games went on.

"It was like all my dreams and everything that I wanted to happen ... it felt like I was living in a movie," she recalled. "And then all of a sudden the crash happened and I was in pain".

The skier said she definitely went through a low moment in her life and was