SNOWBOARD – HALFPIPE: Six years ago Stephanie Magiros had a frank conversation with her dad.

The way Harry Magiros describes it, she said: “I know how I’m going to get to the Olympics, dad, I’m going to snowboard.”

He responded how many caring fathers would: “I said no darling, you’re going to kill yourself.” And that was it. The teenager got a snowboard, Harry started driving her to the snow every weekend, and Stephanie began chasing the Olympic dream.

Also a top-level gymnast, the Sydneysider will make her Olympic debut in Sochi today. Her parents, brothers, grandparents and her great aunt are all in Sochi to cheer her on.

“We booked our tickets a year ago - we had to be here,” Harry said.

“My parents are absolutely stoked they’re here. They came all this way - my dad even brought his sister here from Kythera.”

His parents are 73 and 74 years old, and his aunt lives on the idyllic Greek island, Kythera. His parents met her in Athens and they flew into Sochi together.

“Now I’ve got to drag them up the mountains,” he laughed.

Harry took his parents to Perisher last year so they have seen snow, but it will be the first time they have seen Stephanie compete in a Snowboard Halfpipe.

“It’s unbelievable,” Stephanie said.

“It’s my dream coming true, and I’ll have them right there next to me.

“I’ll be able to see them in the crowd and not have to wait and call them and tell them what happened at 3 o’clock in the morning!”

Stephanie is competing alongside her idol Torah Bright - in fact that’s how it all started. Stephanie sent her dad a video of Bright doing the Halfpipe when she first developed this idea of going to the Olympics.

Since then, her dad describes a journey filled with: “A lot of hard work, dedication and obsession.”

Four years ago Stephanie, Harry and his wife Helen were all at the Vancouver Olympics for their wedding anniversary when Bright won Olympic gold. Stephanie had missed that season with a shoulder reconstruction, but looked on as Bright dominated the Halfpipe and was given the gold medal.

“We knew that she was looking at it saying - I want this shoulder to get better and in four years I’m going to be there - and she did it,” Helen explained.

Helen says that when Stephanie was officially selected in the Team just weeks ago; “It was more joy realising that my baby girl had achieved her dream.”

“She has sacrificed a lot over the last four years. She’s been away from home and we haven’t had our girl - although her snowboarding has taken us to a lot of beautiful places around the world and given us some awesome family moments,” Helen said.

“It was a pretty awesome moment at the Vancouver Olympics watching an Australian win a medal to the event that Stephanie was training towards,” Harry recalls.

Fast forward four years and Stephanie has reached the greatest stage on earth. Today is an incredible moment not just for Stephanie, but for the entire family.

Her younger brother is 16 and a huge Snowboard fan and follower of her career. There’s just one problem: “about two years ago my little 16-year-old brother became a lot taller than me!” 150cm Stephanie said.

“But I’ll still be their big sister forever,” she added.

Thanks to Stephanie’s ambition and an almighty family effort, the Magrios’ now have an Olympian in the family.

The Snowboard Halfpipe begins at 9pm AEDT with Stephanie Magiros, Holly Crawford and Hannah Trigger in the first heat, and Torah Bright in the second heat.