Mirai Nagasu once worked as an NHL ice girl

Mirai Nagasu worked hard to make her Olympics dream come true. She spent several years working in the NHL to help fund those dreams.

Unlike some countries that pay all their future Olympians’ living expenses so that the athletes spend their time focusing on competitions, Team USA hopefuls work normal jobs to fund their Olympic dreams. For figure skater Mirai Nagasu, getting to Pyeongchang was no different, but thankfully she was able to find a job that allowed her to keep her skates on.

Nagasu spent the 2015-16 season with the Colorado Avalanche NHL team as an ice girl. The team sent out a message to congratulate the Avalanche alum on her historic triple axel during the women’s team free skate, which helped propel the United States to a bronze medal in the team event. Nagasu became a household name when she landed the jump, which has only been done twice before at the Olympics.

While she was born and raised in Southern California, 24-year old Nagasu lives in Colorado and needed a job to help pay the bills between training at the US Olympics Training Center headquarters and attending school in Colorado Springs, where she studies international business.

Getting a job that allows her more time on the ice made perfect sense, of course, and now the former ice girl is an Olympics medalist.

During her time with the Avalanche, Nagasu helped clear the ice with other ice girls, and she also participated in community outreach programs all over the area. She helped with learn to skate programs during her tenure, too, which means you might have learned to skate with an Olympics medalist.

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Nagasu’s quest for more Olympics medals is ongoing. The women’s figure skating competition begins with the short program on Feb. 20 and continues with the medal ceremony following the conclusion of the women’s free skate on Feb. 22.