Until the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, Jim Wescott never allowed his two children to watch TV. Jim, who coached U.S. runner Joan Benoit during college, and his family watched history unfold from their home across the country in Farmington, Maine, as Benoit won the first women’s Olympic marathon.

At that moment, a dream emerged for eight-year-old Seth.

"It was one of my first experiences seeing television," he remembers. "Someone that my family knew winning the gold medal just resonated with me that the Olympics is an amazing accomplishment. Since then, the Games have always been super-important in my family."

Twenty years later, Wescott is preparing to make his own Olympic history at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. As the number one-ranked American in snowboard cross, he is leading the United States’ effort in the sport’s first Olympic appearance. Time is ticking away, and Wescott is eager to display his lifetime of work in front of a worldwide audience.

"I try not to think of it as pressure in a negative way," he said about being the icon of the U.S. boardercross team. "I just try to think of it as a positive thing to help give me strength. It gives me such a sense of power and excitement."

Wescott, a seven-time X-Games medalist and a three-time SBX national champion, earned the silver medal in the 2003 World Championships, losing to his best friend Xavier Delerue of France. The two men will likely share the podium at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

Snowboard cross, or SBX, involves four or more competitors racing downhill through turns and jumps in a head-to-head elimination race.

"It’s the snowboard equivalent of motor cross racing," Wescott said. "Pretty intense."

After spending a year and a half at Western State College of Colorado, Wescott opted to put his studies on hold and pursue his professional career. He was presented with travel opportunities, sponsorship deals and photo shoots – too good to pass up, he decided. But with two strict parents who made a living by teaching at universities, Wescott’s announcement didn’t rest easy with his father.

"From my dad especially there was a lot of animosity at that point," he said. "He wanted me to finish my four years of college first. It was hard for a little while, but he finally started to get it after a few years, and now he’s so enthusiastic about it."

The 28-year-old, who said he "sucked at Little League" growing up, admittedly was never good with the hand-eye coordination needed for most childhood sports. Instead, Wescott began downhill skiing in fourth grade and snowboarding a couple years later, winning every amateur competition he entered.

"I was always really good at things that involved gravity…skateboarding, BMX, mountain biking, surfing," Wescott said. "A lot of the contemporary U.S. sports weren’t in my skill ballpark, so thankfully I’ve found my niche with snowboarding."

Snowboarding also helped him find something else – a girlfriend. Wescott is in Europe training and spending time with Tanja Frieden, a member of the Swiss Boardercross National Team. The pair met at a World Cup event and both athletes look forward to representing their countries in the Torino 2006 Games.

Wescott, who expects to star in upcoming Visa and Sprint commercials, said he already feels the newly found Olympic spirit churning in his sport.

"The attention is moving in our direction," he said. "It’s cool to see kids who are so excited about meeting me. The number of competitors in the U.S. is growing, and every day I see the motivation in these young kids. I’m trying to feed off that and it gives me a good feeling."

In the future, Wescott plans to sail around South America, earn a journalism degree and film big mountain riding in Alaska. But for now, his only goal is to stand on the medals podium as Joan Benoit did in 1984, the moment that his Olympic dream began.

"I’ve put so much mental thought in for so many years already," he said, "and there’s no question in my mind that I’m going to be standing on that podium."