Winter Olympics gold medallist Steven Bradbury shares his excitement about Sochi 2014

FOUR years has skated by since Vancouver and now, the biggest show on planet earth, the Olympics Games, has rolled into Sochi, Russia.

Steven Bradbury is pumped about the Sochi Winter Olympics.

FOUR years has skated by since Vancouver and now, the biggest show on planet earth, the Olympics Games, has rolled into Sochi, Russia.

The mandatory lead-up headlines we often see before the sports begin - terrorist threats, stadiums not finished, no snow - have hopefully been buried under a pile of it.

Most Aussies have never been to Russia and this is my first time. I'm excited but a little uncertain. So let's get ready to judge for ourselves how they pull it off, beginning with the Opening Ceremony early tomorrow morning.

Forget the curling and the returning distraction of the Jamaican Bobsled team. Think about superstars like Russia's figure skate Evgeni Plushenko and his Flying Mullet, America's snowboarder Shaun "The Flying Tomato" White and the 'Stolen Skater', South Korea's triple Olympic Hyun Su Ahn, who changed his name to Vicktor Ahn and now skates for Russia.

It's the real deal: Olympic sport.

Over the last decade, Australia has been steadily improving its Winter pedigree, so get ready for Australia's largest ever Winter Olympic team to bring home a bag of medals.

You might know the names Torah Bright or Lydia Lassila but you won't know many of the other 58 athletes wearing the green and gold.

They are not household names, but they are world class athletes who have been battling away for most of their lives to get to Sochi.

This is their time to shine. Once every four years, Australia sits up and takes notice.

On my journey towards becoming a four-time Winter Olympian and our first Winter Olympic gold medallist, I spent thousands of hours at Iceworld in Brisbane's western suburbs.

Training, toiling away at my chosen sport. I was trying to see if I could be the best in the world.

Everyone remembers how I 'Did a Bradbury'. That race in Salt Lake City 2002 is not easily forgotten. Training, five hours a day, six days a week for 12 years is also not easily forgotten.

Was I crazy? A speed skater from Brisbane in the Winter Olympics?

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There were certainly no bright lights, no endorsement opportunities, no signing autographs. Just a kid and a dream.

A dream to give his best while the world is watching and more importantly while Australia is watching. A chance that comes along only once every four years.

Our athletes need to be nervous. The year 2018 is 2,400 training sessions away. That's a long time to wait if you get it wrong.

Unfortunately I'm talking from experience here. At the 1994 Winter Olympics I went in as one of the favourites to win the 1000 metres.

I was knocked over in the first round. Olympics over.

Four years later, I'm back; in Nagano Japan, ranked fifth in the world. Two days before the big race, food poisoning set in. I skated, but had been throwing up for two days. It didn't feel like my legs were even in Japan. The result: 17th.

One month before winning my gold, I had to borrow $1,000 from my dad to fix my car so I could get to training. Do you think winning gold changed my life? Let's just say I don't borrow money from my Dad anymore.

Some other Aussies lives are about to change. We will get to know some new Winter Olympians.

For our 2014 team the hard work is done and the opportunity is now. Which athletes respond and turn the nervous energy into the best performance of their life is yet to be determined.

So c'mon Australia, let's show our support to our mates on the other side of the world.

Get an ice cream., set your A/C to the snowflake, don the beanie, plug in to Ten's coverage and watch Australia show the world that we are a force to reckoned with in Winter sport. It's gonna be awesome!

Steven Bradbury is an Olympic champion and TEN Commentator

2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Catch all of the action live exclusively on TEN.