The year was 2012. The place was the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

The then 16-year-old from country Victoria was one of a group of talented young athletes invited to attend a press conference with the late International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge and American skiing great Lindsey Vonn.

The first half of the event was dedicated for the youth Olympians to ask questions, but Greta says there was a reluctant silence from the young athletes; most were completely overawed by standing cheek-to-cheek with the world’s media.

Ever bubbly and tenacious, the Australian broke the silence firing questions at both Rogge and her childhood sporting idol. What did she ask? To Rogge, she has no memory of the question nor the answer, but Vonn’s question remains crystal clear a decade later.

“I asked about her lucky undies,” Greta laughed, a three-time Olympian as she recollects her cheeky teenage self.

“I’ll never forget, the press conference organisers opened questions to the floor, and nobody said a thing. We were all so young and inexperienced. I had sweaty hands, but I just went for it.

“I have no idea what I asked Jacques Rogge, I’m totally blank on that because I was so nervous, but I remember what I asked Lindsey because I was interviewed live on Eurosport afterwards.

“When I asked about her lucky undies, the tension lifted in the whole room. Everyone loved it. That’s my personality. I’m a positive person. I think the more challenges you face, the more positive you become.

“Before the youth Olympics, I thought the Olympics were the pinnacle of sport but what I learned is they are so much more. They are all about culture and learning; the IOC values and what the service of sport can bring to the world.

“The youth Olympics are where my passion for the Olympics was ignited.”

For Greta, who started her career on plastic skis as a two year old at Mount Buffalo, the Olympics are no longer just a pursuit of sporting perfection, they are a life passion.

As a member of the Australia Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission, she is determined to create the legacy of a “one team” approach between winter and summer sports.

As the nation’s top Alpine skier, she wants to create history by competing at her fourth Games in the downhill at Milano Cortina, Italy in 2026.

And as a girl from the tiny town of Porepunkah (population 941) near Bright, Victoria - she wants to encourage all Aussie kids to follow their dreams.

What inspires Greta is the opportunity to pave the way for others; to encourage young people to believe in themselves and to give those Olympic athletes who have a lower profile a voice.

As a young skier, who left Australia at the age of 12, to live and train in Europe for seven months of the year, she is well-aware of the commitment and sacrifices needed to achieve at an elite level.

Greta said she is forever grateful for the support of her parents, Diane and Boyd, who provide the financial, emotional and logistical support to allow her to do this.

As long-time members of the Mt Hotham Race Club, they recognised the importance of their only child being based in Europe if she was to be competitive in international skiing.

Her mother, who now works with Albury City Council in community safety, put her career on hold to allow Greta to train with the International Ski Academy in Pitztal, Austria and complete school through distance education. Her international airline pilot father became her ski service technician and traveling companion on his retirement.

She confides her teenage years in the alps were isolating as trainings were spent as the only girl among a group of aspiring racers, none whose native language was English. Her German, the language that unites the snow sports world, was limited.

Without social media as we now know it to keep Greta connected with her Aussie schoolmates, she feels lucky to consider her parents among her best friends, despite their strict views on schoolwork, which saw her sidelined from the slopes when she scored a C-grade in a high school science test.

This approach to learning has had a life-long impact. Greta is currently completing a Bachelor of Communication in Business and Media at Griffith University; something she never considered possible when matriculating back in 2013.

“I’ve learned to be positive and take something out of every situation,” the 27-year-old said of her sporting journey so far.

“My parents have dedicated their whole life to give me every opportunity. I am so grateful. If I wanted to do it, they were there to support me, it was never half-hearted, it was either all or nothing.

“Skiing is my passion. It keeps me going through all the injuries and setbacks. I tried so many different sports growing up but I never had a love for anything like I did for skiing.

“There’s no feeling quite like being in the mountains. For me it is the pursuit of excellence, striving for the perfect turn, for the perfect run.

“Shooting for my fourth Games is about not having any regrets because sport is only such a small portion of my life. You only have one chance; I want to do everything I can. It always comes back to passion, if I have passion for what I'm doing, I know that I'll find a way to be successful.

“I’ve been so lucky to experience and to do so much travelling. The funny thing is, the more I experience of the world, the more grateful I am for where I grew up. I’m always so happy to come home to my little town.”

There is no question the people of Porepunkah, at the foot of Mt Buffalo in the Victorian High Country some 320km north-east of Melbourne, are always happy to have their triple Olympian home.

Her commitment to the community is illustrated by regular visits to the 55-pupil primary school and mentoring sessions with her ski clubs at Hotham and Falls Creek. The town’s adoration best reflected in the fact school kids were given half a day off to watch their local hero compete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

As a youngster, Greta remembers the impact of meeting her sporting heroes and hopes to encourage other young people to be the best they can be in what they love most.

“I idolised athletes in my sport when I was growing up. Even now I still remember meeting Lindsey Vonn for the first time when I was about 12 years old,” she said.

“At the World Cup races I’d line up for her autograph. To think that would come full circle and I would end up racing her at the 2018 Olympics, then competing with her in 2019 and going to her retirement party – that was one of the coolest experiences.

“She was my childhood hero. I remember asking her once in surprise: ‘You remember me?’ And she said: ‘Yeah, of course. I remember you, you’re the only Australian’.

“I love going back to my little town and encouraging kids to chase their passions, to have a go and to get out of their comfort zones.

“Doing your best is the biggest impact a person can make whether that's in sport, your family, your community, state, country or the world. Be the best you can be. If I can help one kid do that, I’d be so happy.”

While recovering from her third anterior cruciate ligament surgery in 2019, Greta took a role in community engagement in Melbourne with the Australian Olympic Committee helping to run the Change Maker Summit in Canberra. This consolidated on her mentorship role at the 2016 youth Olympics in Norway.

“What interests me is the community engagement programs the Olympics offers; spreading the Olympic values because they transcend sport,” she said.

“The Olympic movement is my life. I will continue to pursue a leadership role beyond being a full-time athlete.

“The youth voice is so important. The age between 16-21 is pivotal - you never know the impact you are having - you could change the next decisions someone young makes in their life.”

An election on to the AOC Athletes’ Commission, following in the footsteps of Olympic freestyle gold medallist Lydia Lassila, has provided a platform for the downhiller to contribute to the future of Australian sport.

Her nomination was submitted on a whim without expectation; her appointment received with great personal surprise but a sincere commitment to make a positive influence.

“This is the biggest honour, to be elected by my peers, it’s such a proud moment,” Greta said, who compares her elation to being named as Flag Bearer at the 2012 Youth Olympics.

“Not everyone wins a medal when they go to the Games. Not everyone has the backing and the funding and the super sponsors. Not everyone is a superstar in the media but everyone who goes to the Games puts in the hard slog.

“I want to represent and give a voice to those people. I want to be a strong female winter sports advocate. I want to make sure winter sports aren’t left out of the planning.

“I want us to be seen as one team – winter and summer together – to be seen as Olympians.”

Always in pursuit of excellence, whether that be on the slalom course or around the board room table, Greta is excited but cautious about the impact she hopes to create as an athlete, an advocate and ambassador for the Olympic movement.

When she does feel those moments of uncertainty, she embraces the tenacity of that 16-year-old girl who bravely broke the silence of that international press conference at the Youth Olympics a decade ago and asked one of skiing’s greats about her lucky undies.

And then after a hearty giggle, she goes confidently in the direction of her dreams, knowing she has already created a memorable legacy.

Catriona Dixon