My name is Olivia Westall and I’m a 15 year-old girl living with Type 1 diabetes. I’ve had Type 1 since I was 2 years old and have been involved with the JDRF for nearly 13 years. I did my first JDRF walk when I was 2 years old and attended the JDRF Children’s Congress when I was 13. I continue to do the JDRF One Walk with my family and friends every year. I currently live in Frisco, Colorado and I am a competitive alpine ski racer. I race for Team Summit and compete in Slalom, GS, Super-G, and Downhill. Recently I was in Aspen, CO for a big event called Aspen Speed Week (Wilder Dwight Classic). Speed Week is a chance for the alpine racers in the Rocky Division to train and race the speed events: Super-G and Downhill. Downhill is the fastest event because – you can go up to 60mph – sometimes off of jumps! This speed week I won a U16 Downhill race! Winning a race in my age group is hard enough even without diabetes. The hormones that come with being a teenager and the emotions at a race can severely affect your blood sugar. It is so hard to prepare because I never know whether the adrenaline with a race will send me high or low so I have to be prepared for both. Some people ask if diabetes has negatively impacted my performance, but I tell them that quite the opposite is true. Having diabetes has made me infinitely more responsible as an athlete. Instead of eating pizza with my friends for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (this usually ends up happening at every race) I have learned to order a chicken Caesar salad to help manage my blood sugar and give myself a chance to compete. I also think that having diabetes gives me that much more motivation to win because I know that when I stand on top of the podium it took more effort for me to get there. Winning as a diabetic proves to myself that all the times I had to stop training or go later in a race because of low blood sugar or watch what I eat for carbs is waaayyy worth it! I know that if Type 1 diabetes can’t slow me down, nothing can and that if I want to win, then I’m going to find a way to win!