GORHAM (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Mainer Emily Sweeney is competing in her first Olympic Games this year in Pyeongchang, South Korea in women's luge.
Sweeney was born in Portland, and lived in Windham and Falmouth. She now lives in Suffield, Conn. and owns a home within walking distance from the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center.
Sweeney finished the luge season ranked eleventh in the world. She earned a Gold medal in Winterberg, Germany at the 2017 World Cup sprint race, her first career gold.
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Her uncle, Jeff O'Donal, owns O'Donal's nursery, and is traveling to South Korea to support his niece.
"Most families only dream of having an Olympian in their family, and we have two," said O'Donal.
Sweeney's older sister, Megan, is also an Olympian. She beat out Emily for a spot on the 2010 team in Vancouver. Emily was an alternate. Also on that team was Mainer Julia Clukey, of Augusta, making three out of four lugers natives of Maine.
"So when we were there my wife and I told Emily that when she goes, we go," said O'Donal. "She just watched her and said, 'I want to do that. I want to do that.' It's the only thing she's ever wanted to do in her life. She loves lacrosse, but she lives for luge."
The small sleds can reach speeds up to 90 miles per hour. Sliders can experience three to five G-forces on corners.
"It's kind of like ultimate sledding," Sweeney said in a promotional video for the National Guard.
Sweeney serves in the National Guard, and is the first National Guard Elite Athlete to get a ticket to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
O'Donal said he is excited to see her race, even if she speeds past him in a split-second.
"It's just a glimpse -- just a glimpse, except at the finish line. In the case of Emily, she's known for her smile. She will finish with a smile regardless of how she does. And when she does, it just lights the place up. Everybody's cheering for her," said O'Donal.