Emily Cook, a 22-year-old on the U.S. ski team that is based at Park City, Utah, shares a weekly diary on her preparations for the Olympics.

If you have read my past few entries, you'll know that our team has been gearing for quite some time to jump. After we had camps canceled at two locations due to lack of snow, we decided to go to Fortress Mountain to train with the Canadian National Team along with the Australian, Japanese and Ukrainian teams. The day we got to the site, I was so excited and definitely ready to start jumping.

EMILY COOK

Cook Birthdate: July 1, 1979 Hometown: Belmont, Mass. Sport: Freestyle skiing -- aerialist Accomplishments: The No. 1 freestyle aerialist in the United States, she won the gold medal at the 2001 U.S. Championships and the silver medal at the 2001 Grand Nationals. She won a bronze medal at the 2001 World Cup at Deer Valley. Personal: She attends the University of Utah. When she's not on the slopes, she enjoys scuba diving, rock climbing, yoga, fly-fishing and reading. When she was only 2 years old, her mother was killed by a drunk driver. Her father taught her how to ski when she was 4.

My coaches and I decided that I would start with a mellow day, doing mostly single flips in order to warm up a bit. At around my 10th jump, however, I caught my right foot on the landing hill, causing me to twist my knee as I tumbled.

I hobbled to the side of the hill and discussed the situation with my trainer, who checked it out and then sent me into the lodge to put ice on my right knee. Sitting alone in the lodge, my mind began to wander, and I started worrying about the extent of the injury. As a competitive skier, one of my biggest fears has always been blowing out a knee or tearing ligaments. It's a common skier injury and one that generally requires surgery and at least a season to recover. My Olympic dream, the one that began years and years ago, would be over for this year if that were the extent of my injury.

Thankfully, after it was checked thoroughly, it was determined that I had a simple strain of the MCL, which generally takes two to three weeks to heal. This was the best news I could hear, and I was truly relieved. Although I will miss the rest of this camp, I have the utmost confidence in myself to be able to come back from this injury stronger and even more mentally prepared for the upcoming competitions.

Two days ago, I made the decision to return to Park City to do my rehab. My coaches and I feel that being here will allow me to get the best care possible, and I'll heal quickly and completely. I have been doing pool workouts and exercises in the clinic to get my knee stronger and am progressing every day. This injury has created a new way of training for me. Although I am not jumping, I consider myself to still be training every day and working toward my goals.

Yesterday, I saw my doctor, who confirmed that I am doing great and am on my way to a full recovery in time for the Gold Cup competition on New Year's eve. The winner of that competition gets an automatic berth in the Olympic games in February, so that's my main focus for the next few weeks. Each day I do at least one full jumping workout in my head through visualization so that when I get back to snow I will be healthy and completely prepared to compete.

Never underestimate the power of the mind.