An athlete from Westport will be heading to the Winter Olympic Games in South Korea next month.

Julia Marino, 20, finished second at the final women’s snowboarding Olympic qualifier this past weekend. She also won at the Big Air Fenway competition two years ago at Fenway Park in Boston.

"Fenway was definitely my breakthrough event," Marino says. “From there things just started to kick in.”

Marino recalls breaking one of her skis at age 13 on a family vacation and her father telling her she had to use her snowboard for the rest of the trip.

"I was so mad and then after a couple of days I actually forgot about skiing for a second and I was really happy on my board," she says.

Marino has been a member of the U.S. Women’s snowboarding team for four years. She says she is hoping to win an Olympic medal.

“It would be a huge dream come true for me– huge accomplishment, and I would be super proud, excited and honored to represent my country," she says.

Marino will also be competing in this year’s X-games in Aspen, Colorado.