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Brett Buckles understands the pressure that comes with winning. She understands what it is like to live with the pain of a chronic injury and the significance of getting a second chance to do something you love.

Not long ago, Buckles was a rising star on the U.S. Ski Team's Alpine squad. She enjoyed strong results as a junior and just when it seemed as though she was going to explode onto the international scene her career was cut short.

Every time she slipped into her ski boots she experienced unbearable pain in her shins. She tried everything. She saw doctors, changed the way she prepared for competition and even tried new boots.

But in the end nothing seemed to work, and the young skiing star elected to give up her Olympic dreams and the sport she had loved since she was a child. She retired from the U.S. Ski Team, and it seemed she would simply vanish from the sport she had dedicated so much of her life to.

But a couple of years ago Buckles got something she never expected - a second chance.

To some, free skiing is a fringe sport filled with over-the-top athletes who are looking to change the sport with big tricks and rebellious attitudes.

But for others, like Buckles, free skiing has been the chance to extend their competitive careers.

Today, Buckles said she is pain free for the first time in a long time. She isn't sure why the pain is gone, but she isn't complaining.

These days, Buckles has returned to skiing and is once again at the top of her game - not between the red and blue racing gates, but on the banked turns and high-flying jumps of the skiercross course.

Buckles said she picked the sport up a few years ago, and has become a regular on tours such as the Jeep King of the Mountain and the Winter X Games.

To her surprise the sport was recently added to the list of Olympic sports that will be offered in Canada in 2010.

Buckles isn't making any predictions, but the idea of competing in the Olympics is a dream she has held since she started skiing when she was 2 years old.

But Buckles insists she isn't thinking about results this time around.

She still hasn't forgotten how the pressure of winning drove her to ski even when the pain seemed unbearable.

Buckles escaped that world and found a sanctuary in the world of free skiing. It is a place where she could still compete, but didn't have to worry about results or Olympic dreams - a place where she could continue to love the sport of skiing.

Today, Buckles understands what her love for the sport means, and how important it is to her life.

She would love to represent her country in the Olympics someday, but for now, she's simply making the most of her second chance.