Faye Gulini may have 275 more young viewers turning in to watch snowboard cross this Olympics, thanks to being one of three Olympians who recently helped with Willow Canyon Elementary’s literacy month’s opening ceremony. 

The celebration welcomed five-time Olympian snowboarder Gulini, two-time Olympic skiing freestyle medalist Shannon Bahrke and 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games gold medalist skeleton racer Tristan Gale, where they spoke to a gym full of students, sharing their dreams, injuries, perseverance and stories that started before becoming elite athletes.

Gulini, a Cottonwood Heights native who grew up on the slopes of Snowbird, explained the intensity of snowboard cross to students.

“It is four people and we’re racing down a course, bouncing off each other, running each other over,” she said. “We’re falling; we’re crashing. It’s very exciting to watch, but it’s also very dangerous.”

After four Olympics, Gulini stepped away from the sport and started a family and had doubts about returning to competition.

“I always thought once I’m a mom, I can’t be an athlete,” she said, but added she was inspired by her children to return and wanted to motivate youngsters. “Even with my training and kids, I don't ever want to pass up an opportunity to talk to the younger generation or inspire kids.”

Gale, a Brighton High graduate who was studying at Salt Lake Community College when she was the first woman in history to win Olympic gold in skeleton, showed students some of her equipment and broke down a sport many people only watch on TV every four years.

“I’m a fast slider; I go about 80 miles per hour,” she said.

To achieve that speed, she worked with Nike shoe engineers to design a shoe she can wear on the ice which protects her toes from injury, but it also has spikes to ensure a fast start. She showed her aerodynamic race suits, one which had a layer of warmth to ensure she could stand the winds at the top of the icy course.

Racing skeleton was not part of her childhood plan, but when a student asked if she knew she would be an Olympian, Gale smiled and said yes. It was in second grade, before she started any sport, she wrote a letter saying she wanted to go the “O, l, k, y, m, p, i, x.” 

The former ski racer turned skeleton racer said her first run was memorable.

“My first run ever was the scariest and I was nervous, but no run has ever been as much fun,” she said. “I train like I race, and I race like I train. Mentally, the hardest part is when everybody's watching you, and it can be a lot of pressure, but I'm about having fun, because that's the way I am.”

Bahrke, who won Olympic silver in 2002 and bronze in 2010 in moguls, remembered her second run of her silver-medal run at Deer Valley. Standing at the gate before her race, she was grateful, proud and focused as she gazed around the mountains, knowing her family was there, and that she wore the Olympic rings on her shoulder.

“I pushed out of the gate and had one of the best runs in the whole world,” she said.

But it didn’t come easily. Bahrke told students about her injuries – ankle, shoulder, broken jaw and multiple knee surgeries – and overcoming fear and setbacks, which shaped her resilience.

“I dug deep and found out who I really am and what I’m made of,” she said.

The athletes connected with students, answering their questions, posing for photos and letting them check out their Olympic medals. 

For many students, it was their first chance to hear Olympians talk about their stories firsthand, said Willow Canyon literacy month chair Kat Torello.

“It was really cool to have the Olympians at our opening ceremonies,” she said, adding the Olympic reading theme tied into the school’s yearlong focus. “My favorite part was the interaction when students asked questions and the Olympians answered with such in-depth answers.”

When students first entered the gym by class, they carried handmade banners, which they created in art class. That Olympic-themed art now fills the cafeteria.

Throughout the month, students were expected to track their reading minutes by reading independently, listening to audiobooks or being read to by an adult. Weekly raffles, classroom readathons, a bookmark design contest and a book swap were planned to keep the momentum going, along with donated prizes.

“The whole point is to get kids reading,” Torello said. “They’re excited. I hope we can get these kids into the reading habit and keep it going.”

Past PTA President Chelsea Hunt helped students realize improving their reading was similar to improving as an athlete.

“Olympians train every single day; they set goals, they celebrate progress on their way to big victories,” she said. “Do Olympians just wake up as Olympians? No, they have to work hard. In the same way, reading gets better and better with practice and patience. When you set a reading goal and spend time each day, you're training your brain the way athletes train their bodies.”

While there were individual and team prizes to achieve, the overall school goal was set to exceed last year’s 189,000 minutes. If the students meet that accomplishment, Principal Halley Nelson was set to kiss a pig at the literacy month’s closing ceremony. When Bahrke gave kids high-fives as they left the gym, she encouraged them to “read, read, read” to accomplish their goal.

As Gulini was preparing to compete in Italy, her newest Olympic fans at Willow Canyon were making plans to cheer on an Olympian they met and were inspired by.

“I want these students to know they can accomplish anything or any milestone in their lives,” Gulini said. “Ultimately, anything can be accomplished with hard work and dedication.”