America's top skiers and snowboarders are Vancouver Bound, headed for the world's biggest sporting event that occurs every four years this February. They head to Vancouver with goals, dreams and aspirations, following in the footsteps of U.S. athletes who have established a legacy of Olympic success since the Winter Olympics began in 1924. Here's another story of a great American Olympian whose accomplishments captivated the world as only an Olympic medal can do.

An Olympics in your home country brings great excitement across a nation. It also inspires youth who are captivated by the excitement of on-the-edge athletic feats. Jean Saubert was one of those young teenagers who was inspired watching Penny Pitou and Betsy Snite-Riley beaming with pride as they medaled in Squaw Valley at the 1960 Olympic Winter Games.

A young ski racer who grew up skiing at Oregon's Hoodoo Butte ski area, the high school senior relished her Squaw Valley experience and went back home more motivated than ever. While some thought she could have been named herself to that 1964 Olympic Team, her turn would come four years later.

In the years leading up to Innsbruck, she was the dominant women's ski racer in America and headed to Austria as a viable contender. But she had big boots to fill, following in the footsteps of her countrywomen Gretchen Fraser, Andrea Mead Lawrence, Pitou and Snite-Riley – who had led the U.S. women's dominance of three of the four Olympics since 1948.

The Americans went into Innsbruck on a wave of national publicity and an energetic young coach, Bob Beattie. Most of the focus was on the men – great champions like Chuck Ferries and Buddy Werner. Saubert's talent was clear, as Beattie explained: "Everybody knew, even as a youngster,that she was going to be a good ski racer. She led by example. Jean really wanted to be a great ski racer and pay the price to get there. She was dedicated to what she wanted to be. Younger kids can really learn something from a person like that."

But while the eyes of the world were on the U.S. men, who were seeking their first Olympic medal in history, it was Saubert who would initiate the U.S. medal splurge. She came out of the start and picked up two medals, first, a bronze in slalom and then a silver in giant slalom – in both cases, battling the Goitschel sisters from Val d'Isere, France, who reigned supreme.

In the slalom, not her strongest event, she was sixth after the first run and battled back to a bronze that she cherished. Saubert retired to Oregon, attending Oregon State, as well as Brigham Young University, and became a school teacher, spending 22 years teaching in the Hillsboro, OR school system. She didn't show off her medals often. But every four years, her students had a special treat in seeing what she worked a lifetime to achieve.

She was named to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1976, and later the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame. And in 2002, she relived her own Olympic dream come true, carrying the torch prior to the Salt Lake City Olympics and playing an active role as a U.S. Ski Team alum.

Sadly, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and passed away at her home in Montana in 2007. And those famous medals the schoolchildren admired every four years? They now reside on display at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's national training center, the Center of Excellence in Park City, UT.

America's top skiers and snowboarders are Vancouver Bound, headed for the world's biggest sporting event that occurs every four years this February. They head to Vancouver with goals, dreams and aspirations, following in the footsteps of U.S. athletes who have established a legacy of Olympic success since the Winter Olympics began in 1924. Learn more about the great accomplishments of American skiers and snowboarders at www.usskiteam.com/vancouverbound. And to help support today's Vancouver Bound U.S. Ski Team - athletes who have made a lifetime commitment to their sport - you can join the new U.S. Ski Team Fan Club.