Aiko Uemura took part in official practice on Wednesday a day ahead of moguls qualifying in what is her fifth Olympic Games.
"I was able to get some good preparation done," said the 2007-2008 World Cup moguls champion, after getting a feel for the Sochi moguls course. "It's a very difficult course. You can't let up."
Although she also has a pair of world championship golds from 2009, when the event was held in Inawashiro, Fukushima Prefecture, the 34-year-old Uemura said everything pales compared to Olympic hardware.
"If I could win a medal at the Olympics, then I could die happy," she said.
After finishing fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Games, Uemura took time off. A year later, she announced she would make a comeback, but it was a hard road getting back in shape.
"I can say now, that I was aiming for Sochi," she said.
For the first time in five seasons, she has been working on her high-scoring corkscrew aerial, although she hasn't tried it in competition this year
"I'm looking forward to the challenge," she said. "Both my turns and my speed are improving."
"If I can ski the way I know I can, the results will come."