Maëlle Ricker is a snowboard cross champion who was the first woman ever to win a gold medal for Team Canada on home soil. Her gold medal victory at the Vancouver Games was a standout moment for Canada in the 2010 Olympics. This year, she’s aiming for gold again. Here are five things you didn’t know about Maëlle Ricker. 1. She’s a Scrabble fanatic. “I’m a bit of an avid scrabble player. My mom loves playing that too, so it’s always great to go over to her house and we’ll pick up our Scrabble matches there. Or even with my boyfriend. I like the true board game with the little wooden letters. I like it old-fashioned, not the phone game. That’s a nice morning, when you have a cup of coffee and play Scrabble.” 2. She has a secret weapon for travelling. “I’ve been travelling the world for a while now. I can operate on a little bit of sleep, but I operate better on a good night’s sleep. The one thing that seems to really help is that I travel with my own pillow, which is nice. So no matter where you are you have a little bit of comfort from your bed from home.” 3. She’s always open to a new motto. “I heard one just recently that was, ‘If Plan A doesn’t work, there are 25 other letters in the alphabet.’ I thought it was pretty clever.” 4. Her mom is her number one fan. “There are certain feelings that get triggered when I watch the TV footage of the Vancouver Games, because there are these specific shots that are very memorable, and one of them is there is this super cute picture of my mom. She’s got the Canadian maple leaves tattooed on her cheeks and tears streaming down. She’s so happy and having such a great time.” 5. She’s determined to get on the podium in Sochi. “I want to have one of those races where you feel like you just left everything on the snow. You have a run where you’re on the tip of being totally in control and totally out of control. And to be able to put that moment down when it matters most.” Read  more about Maëlle Ricker and check out our February issue for our full Olympic package. (Photography: Canadian Olympic Committee)