Tears, flowers and a whole new family member greeted silver medallist Olympian Jaclyn Narracott as she entered the arrivals lounge at the Brisbane International Airport this morning.
Swapping Beijing's icy Winter Olympic Games' tracks for the Brisbane summer heat, Narracott embraced her mum, Cheryl, and dad, Roger, along with her baby nephew, Hudson.
It's not just the first time her family has seen her since she added an Olympic silver to her resume. It's the first time the 31-year-old has returned to Australia in more than two years and her first time meeting baby Hudson.
Speaking at the airport, Narracott told reporters the silver medal was something she had always dreamed of, but never expected.
"The only way it feels real is when this is actually around my neck," Narracott said.
'Iced waterslide'
Narracott transfixed Olympic viewers in Australia as she hurdled down icy tracks at speeds in excess of 130 kilometres per hour in the skeleton event.
In her own words, skeleton involves taking a running start and diving head-first down what is basically an "iced waterslide" on a "boogie board with metal [rails] down the back of it … as fast as you possibly can".
But the story behind Narracott's success is just as thrilling.
Family footsteps
Olympic talent runs in the Narracott family, but it was a chance encounter that led a teenage Jaclyn Narracott to the sport of skeleton.
Her mum, Cheryl Narracott, told ABC Radio that her daughter was inspired by her uncle's stories early on.
Narracott's uncle, Paul Narracott, competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games.
"She used to hear the stories, actually — these stories get passed down through the family," Cheryl said.
'No idea what skeleton was'
Growing up, Narracott competed in track and field and was scouted by the Queensland Academy of Sport as a soccer player.
She was at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre in Brisbane when the national bobsleigh team showed up to train.
They convinced her to make the transition from a summer to a winter sport, and she flew to Europe to try out with Australia's bobsleigh squad in 2011.
While Narracott was there, national skeleton coaches approached her to train in the solo sport, to her parents' surprise.
"She, of course, rang us and I had no idea what skeleton was," Cheryl said.
Concussion nearly ended her career
Narracott made her Olympic debut in Skeleton at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games, coached by her husband, Dominic Parsons, himself a bronze-medal-winning Olympian.
However, shortly after, Narracott suffered a concussion that nearly ended her career.
Dad Roger spoke of his daughter's determination at the family reunion at Brisbane's airport today.
"She was out of action for six months and she was she couldn't walk down the street without feeling drunk or dizzy. I don't know what that feels like," he said.
"To come back from that, through all the rehab with the special physios and the neurosurgeons and stuff, and then to fight back to earn her licence back, has been a long, hard road."
Narracott estimated the sport had cost her and her family around $200,000.
After the concussion, something in the 31-year-old's mindset switched.
"I kind of gave up on — well, not so much gave up — accepted the fact that maybe winning the World Cup medal wasn't going to happen," Narracott said.
"I just made peace with the fact that my career wasn't any better or worse for it.
"It was still a pretty good career, even if I didn't get the medals that I was really wanting, and sure enough, the second I let go of all of that, it all kind of clicked."
Not only did she take out the silver in the Beijing Games' skeleton, she also claimed the World Cup Series Gold in January this year, her first podium finish in a world series event.
'I don't want it to end with me'
Narracott has no plans to retire just yet.
"Back to training, back to finding a job," she said.
Her focus now is on developing the sport in Australia, particularly for women.
"It's me and one other at the moment, and I don't want it to end with me," she said.
"We used to have a program and we were really good on the world stage, so I don't see any reason why we can't be back doing that.
"If I'm the catalyst for that, perfect."
But, first, Narracott said she would take a four-week break to reunite with family.
