TREVOR, Wis. — While the world watched Olympic figure skaters compete in Milan, Helana Esch, a 7th grader from Trevor, was watching with dreams of her own.
WATCH: Helana isn't just dreaming — she's putting in the work.
"I could potentially see myself at the Olympics," Esch said. "It makes me so happy."
Helana isn't just dreaming — she's putting in the work. She trains at Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion before 7 a.m., balancing elite-level figure skating with her online schoolwork.
This season, she won a National Qualifying Series competition in Cleveland, earned a personal best score and took silver in the Upper Great Lakes Regional division.
Her coach, Denise Myers, has trained Olympians before. She knows what it takes to reach that level.
"If I had a choice between talent and hard work, I'd always pick the hard worker because you can develop the talent," Denise said.
In November, Helana broke her knee just before a big competition. For many young athletes, that would be devastating. For Helana, it was a challenge to overcome.
"Every day I would do physical therapy, once in the morning, once in the afternoon so that when I came back, I was strong enough," Etsch said.
The dedication paid off. She's back on the ice, stronger than before.
"You can kind of look at a skater and watch them and see if they have it in their heart," Myers said. "That to me as a coach is so exciting when you see that sparkle in their eye."
During the Milan Olympics, Helana and her teammates watched Team USA compete between training sessions.
"I'm really glad that they managed to come back and win a gold," Etsch said.
Now, she's working toward her own Olympic moment — one early morning training session at a time.
Helana also dreams of earning a Ph.D. in anthropology or archaeology someday, proving she's as dedicated to academics as she is to athletics.
For now, her focus is on the ice and on the Olympic dream that drives her to wake up before sunrise every single day.
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