Today marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games and I think I can speak for most people when I say that the Games exceeded everyone's expectations!

As an athlete who had competed in two Games already, it was amazing to see the support, attention, and media fanfare of a sport that usually receives no attention at all.

Canadians and fans from everywhere around the world really embraced these Games differently - the headlines were about the sport, less so about the disability which was really rewarding for us as athletes.

As Paralympians, we are really proud of the adversity that we've had to overcome but at the end of the day we are athletes who want to be the best in the world in our sport and the success of the Vancouver 2010 Games meant that the message is starting to get through.

Personally, my favourite experience from the Games was sharing my medals with my family and friends who were at the finish line to support me.

It meant a lot to me to show this success to my parents who first pushed me down the hill just because we loved the sport.

They believed in me from day one.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their amazing support of Paralympic sport so far and want to encourage everyone to keep that 2010 spirit alive and to keep following and cheering us on!

We have had some incredible results this past winter again on the World Stage and many athletes standing on the podium for Canada – they need our continued support to keep reaching for the top as they continue to work towards London 2012 and Sochi 2014.

Lauren Woolstencroft is former Paralympic alpine skier who made history at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics by becoming the first Canadian Winter Paralympian to win five gold medals at a single Games. The 29-year-old from Alberta, who was born missing her left arm below the elbow as well as both legs below the knees, retired last June and has since picked up numerous awards including Sport British Columbia's Best of BC Award and Best Female at the first-ever Canadian Paralympic Committee Awards Ceremony