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Kaetlyn Osmond's Fighting Spirit Will Inspire You To Never Give Up

She's been through so much.
Kaetlyn Osmond competes in the women's single skating short program during the PyeongChang Olympics.
MLADEN ANTONOV via Getty Images
Kaetlyn Osmond competes in the women's single skating short program during the PyeongChang Olympics.

Canadian figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond's third-place standing after the women's short program in PyeongChang is impressive on its own merit — but her performance is downright inspiring when you consider how hard she's fought to return to the spotlight.

The 22-year-old from Marystown, N.L., entered the skating scene with a bang in 2012, winning gold at her first senior ISU Grand Prix event, Skate Canada International. But then a series of injuries threatened to derail her career, Olympic.ca reports.

After suffering a hamstring injury, Osmond withdrew from the 2013 season. She bounced back to win the Canadian title in 2014, and helped Canada win a silver medal in the team event at the Sochi Olympics. But later that year she broke her fibula in two places when she swerved to avoid hitting a skater in practice, The Canadian Press reports. Osmond needed two surgeries to implant and then remove a plate and seven screws from her leg, according to Olympic.ca.

She also suffered two stress fractures in her foot before she broke her leg, Osmond told CBC. She had to sit out an entire season, and spent the 2015-16 season re-learning how to compete. But you wouldn't know it from Wednesday's skate.

What a champion.

Here are five times Osmond's fighting spirit inspired us:

1. When she said just how bad it was

Kaetlyn Osmond warms up prior to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating on Nov. 18, 2017.
Joosep Martinson/ISU via Getty Images
Kaetlyn Osmond warms up prior to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating on Nov. 18, 2017.

If you think breaking your leg in two places sounds painful ... you're right. Osmond didn't hold back on the details in a CBC documentary series.

"It snapped," she said of her leg.

"I remember so many screams coming out of me. I don't fully remember the pain itself. But I remember just noises that I never thought were ever possible to come out of me."

Later, Osmond felt disappointment as much as pain, she said.

"The only thing I can remember saying is 'why is this happening to me again?'"

2. When she admitted she was scared

Kaetlyn Osmond after her performance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, Japan on Dec. 9, 2017.
Issei Kato / Reuters
Kaetlyn Osmond after her performance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya, Japan on Dec. 9, 2017.

Who wouldn't be after breaking their leg on the ice?! We love Osmond for admitting how hard it was to get over her fears in a Canadian Press video.

"Skating was really scary for me when I came back. I didn't know if I wanted to do it again. It was scary to put my skates on. I was scared to get on the ice. And once I finally got on the ice I was scared to be on the ice with other people. And then there was the fear of competing again and putting myself in front of a crowd," she said.

"It all scared me in a number of ways that I'd never felt toward skating."

We don't blame you, girl. SEVEN screws and a plate, let us recall.

3. When she said how she started trusting her body again

Kaetlyn Osmond competes in the women's single skating short program during the PyeongChang Olympics.
Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images
Kaetlyn Osmond competes in the women's single skating short program during the PyeongChang Olympics.

Eventually, after recovering physically and with the help of a sports psychologist, Osmond started feeling stronger, she told CBC.

"I knew my body could take the battle of everyday training, and take the battle of falls, and bending in ways that bodies really shouldn't bend," Osmond said.

"I knew that things were going to hurt. I knew that things weren't always going to be perfect. But I could trust that I could make it through it."

4. When she said how she found her purpose

Kaetlyn Osmond competes in the Team Event Women Single Skating short program at the 2018 Olympics.
Lucy Nicholson / Reuters
Kaetlyn Osmond competes in the Team Event Women Single Skating short program at the 2018 Olympics.

Obviously, Osmond got her groove back. And the battle was mental as much as physical, she said.

"I had to re-learn how to skate from the basics. And it wasn't until the end of the year when I finally had a good skate in competition that I realized I can actually get back to where I was, if not better," Osmond said in a Canadian Press video..

"And I just actually had to put the work in. And I knew that I was skating three hours every day, and I was just tired of going through the motions of it. And after that moment I went to the rink with a purpose every day, instead of just skating."

5. When she said she has a team supporting her

Osmond might be a solo skater, but she's come to realize she has a whole team of support.

"I have a different type of team," she recently told YEG Fitness

"I work with a team of coaches and trainers to make me feel like I am not alone out on the ice. Though it is a different type of motivation than what I believe being part of a team would be. I need to motivate myself to work hard because only I can skate my program. I need to work on a series of mental skills to help keep focused because I don't have other people keeping me in the moment."

Talk about strength. Now matter how she places after the free skate (although we're sure she's going to get a medal), Osmond is a true inspiration.

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