Sochi profile #4: Russ Henshaw

YOU often hear of the families of Olympians giving an arm and a leg to help their children.

YOU often hear of the families of Olympians giving an arm and a leg to help their children.

Usually it's just a metaphor. But not in the case of Australian slopestyle skier Russ Henshaw. When Henshaw, 23, broke his kneecap in 30 places, his doctor told him he would have trouble walking again, never mind skiing.

Naturally, he was devastated. But the then 15-year-old was soon skiing again and became a top alpine racer.

When he switched to the new Olympic sport of slopestyle skiing, disaster soon struck again. In 2011, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

In stepped his father Steve, who donated part of his hamstring, which the doctors inserted in place of the ligament.

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#12 - LAURA PEEL: A REAL DEAL MEDAL HOPE

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#10 - BRITT COX: BABY OLYMPIAN GROWS UP

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#8 - HOLLY CRAWFORD: THE OTHER BLONDE BOARDER

#7 - DALE BEGG-SMITH: WHO IS THIS GUY, REALLY?

#6 - DAVID MORRIS: NO MICKEY MOUSE SKIER

#5 - ANNA SEGAL: PARENTS NOT IMPRESSED

So here's a guy with no ACL and he's about to compete at the Sochi Winter Olympics on what is said to be the largest slopestyle course ever constructed anywhere.

How are you feeling about that, Russ?

"I wouldn't say I'm scared," Henshaw said on his arrival to Sochi.

"The course is massive but sometimes the big courses are safer because if you feel like you're messing up a trick a little or you're going to crash, you have more time to sort yourself out in the air and get out of that trick. But from what I've seen, it's built really, really well so it should be fun."

Henshaw likes to talk a lot about his need to have fun.

"I generally ski my best when I'm having fun, so I'll try to put all the pressure behind and have a good time," he said.

He is not alone in talking and thinking that way. There is a culture among many of the Australian winter Olympians in Sochi to enjoy themselves while competing.

They maintain it is important to stay cool, to remember that without the joy inherent in sports like skiing and snowboarding, there is essentially nothing.

Slopestyle is a dangerous event in which competitors travel as much as 30m in the air between jumps.

Henshaw had a bad training mishap before the recent X Games, where he fell so heavily he split his helmet.

Despite that, he said he was confident about his chances in Sochi. As well he might be.

He has notched up numerous podium finishes at World Cup and World Championship level.

Henshaw is a modest sort of man who just bought his first property in Jindabyne, in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

His Australian skiing background means that he is a big fan of the local conditions in Sochi, which is in Russia's warmest region.

"I am fully expecting Australian-style snow," he said. "It might become slushy then freeze overnight.

"A lot of these guys I compete against have grown up with everything being so perfect, whereas I guess I have bit of an advantage."

Sochi 2014 only on Network Ten from February 7-24.