But she can't win an Olympic medal.

No woman can, because ski jumping and Nordic combined (cross-country skiing and ski jumping) are the only sports at the Winter Olympics without a women's division.

Former Salt Lake City mayor Deedee Corradini wants to change that.

"These young women are being discriminated against and deserve a chance," said Corradini.

She was taking a class with Lindsey's uncle George Van when the two began talking about women's ski jumping. Corradini was surprised to learn about the lack of an Olympic event for the women. She volunteered her experience and contacts from the Salt Lake City Games to help the women jumpers achieve their goal of gaining Olympic status at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Raising money is a key ingredient, and Corradini has helped organize a benefit dinner to be held Nov. 20 at the Log Haven Restaurant.

Because women's ski jumping is not an Olympic sport, the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) can't officially make the women part of the U.S. team. But Luke Bodensteiner, Nordic program director for the USSA, is supportive.

"We're enthusiastic about the women we have jumping and look forward to the day it's an Olympic sport," said Bodensteiner. "But the decision to add women's ski jumping is ultimately controlled by the International Olympic Committee [IOC] and we're a few steps away from that."

The International Ski Federation (FIS) has added a Continental Cup event for women ski jumpers - one was held in Park City last July. Bodensteiner said the idea is to build a critical mass of athletes and events so that the decision to create an Olympic event is a natural evolution, rather than a political decision.

That can't happen soon enough for Lindsey Van, who began ski jumping when she was just 7 and was one of the top racers in the Park City youth ski-racing program. Van tried the ski jump hill when the Utah Winter Sports Park opened in 1993 as part of Salt Lake City's bid for the 2002 Games and loved it.

Ski jumping looks scary to many people, but Van, who trains 35 hours a week, even as she pursues a degree at the University of Utah, said, "It's a rush and it's fun, not terrifying."

Kathy Shurtleff, the executive director of Women's Ski Jumping USA, said the nonprofit group is trying to work within the system to get the event added to the Olympics and is contacting women's ski jumping organizations in other countries to build support. She hopes Corradini's background and experience will help the women raise money and work through the political maze of the USSA, FIS and IOC.

"One fourth of the registered ski jumpers in the U.S. are women. We hope to create an opportunity for future generations of women athletes," Shurtleff said.

A new film may help their cause. Ruth Gregory, a documentary filmmaker, is in the final stages of producing a one-hour movie, "Jump Like a Girl," that follows Van and Jessica Jerome, a senior at Park City High School who is rated fourth in women's ski jumping, during two years of training and competition. The film has been submitted to the Sundance Film Festival.

"It takes really gutsy and determined people to break barriers, and I think that Lindsey and Jessica are doing that for women's ski jumping," said Gregory. "All of the reasons to not allow them to jump at the Olympic level are irrelevant in my eyes."

Women's Ski Jumping USA is hosting "A Night with Olympians - Past, Present and Future," on Sat., Nov. 20 at the Log Haven Restaurant in Mill Creek Canyon from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (Dinner is served at 7:30 p.m.)

Tickets are $150 per person, and are limited to the first 150 people. Reservations can be made by calling (435) 649-3736 or printing out and returning the invitation at womensskijumpingusa.com.