16-year-old Isabela Aponte from Iona qualifies for Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Isabela Aponte, 16, got on her sled in Germany 10 points shy of qualifying for the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon.

“It was stressful and there was pressure but I try not to let it get to me,” Aponte explained. “So I kind of just focus on what I did like what I was doing and then just let everything else kind of like from my all towards my sledding.”

After her second run in the FIL Youth A World Cup in Winterberg, Aponte felt strong about her chances. She finished with 17 points. That total not only secured her spot in South Korea, but also completed a journey that started at a beginner’s luge camp in Latvia last October.

“Just thinking back to it now and not even knowing what it was like what it was not knowing what the sport was,” Aponte recalled. “So much has happened in the last year. It’s insane to think about how much you know how quick it went and how much has happened and how much I’ve grown as not just as an athlete, but as a person.”

A major part of that dream was about making history. Aponte will be the first girl to compete for Puerto Rico in luge at the Winter Youth Olympics.

“A lot of people don’t know about this sport, not just in Puerto Rico, but everywhere,” Aponte said. “So I’m gonna be able to be that person to open up this new world and show other girls my age at doing this as possible and that even though we’re young, we’re able to achieve so many things.”

To make this happen, the Iona teenager spent a lot of time away from family as she traveled to other countries. She also had to take online classes in the middle of hours of training.

“There’s so many sacrifices I’ve made for this sport, but I wouldn’t change anything,” Aponte explained. “It’s all worth it.”