Cross-country skier Kris Freeman is heading to his third consecutive Winter Olympics and may offer America's best shot in more than 30 years to bring home a medal. Freeman, 29, of Andover, N.H., is believed to be the first athlete with type 1 diabetes to compete at a world-class level in an endurance sport.

Diabetes Forecast caught up with Freeman, who has won 13 national championships in cross-country events, to talk about everything from his race for the gold in Vancouver next month to finding the right basal rate for his insulin pump.

Is it true that when you were diagnosed, you were told that the disease would keep you from ever competing in the Olympics? How did you move past that?

I was told that I could continue to cross-country ski race but that my Olympic aspirations were not realistic. No one [with diabetes] had competed at the Olympic level before in an endurance event. I found that crushing. I wasn't interested in competing at a recreational level; I always aspired to be an Olympic medalist. So I looked for as much research as I could and learned as much as I could about research and treatments. What really made me believe it was possible was the innovations in the last five to 10 years. Take fast-acting Humalog, and how much faster [blood glucose meters] were getting. I thought, how could anyone know what's possible with all this new stuff?

How long had you been skiing when you were diagnosed with diabetes, and how did diabetes change the sport for you?

My dad pulled me in a sled behind him skiing when I was a baby, and as soon as I could walk, I was on skis. I did my first race when I was 5. I'm a lifetimer. I was diagnosed when I was 19, and it took a long time [to get used to]. First of all, when I was first diagnosed [after a routine blood test], I was in the "honeymoon phase" and I stayed there almost three years, which was both a blessing and also not. When I was diagnosed, my blood sugar was only 240. I was constantly losing my natural ability to make insulin, and the doses I was using a couple months prior wouldn't always work anymore. But it made for an easier transition off the bat, and I'm thankful that I didn't end up with the type of high, damaging blood sugar that some people have [when they're first diagnosed].

In Vancouver, what events will you compete in? Which one is your favorite?

There are two distinctive types of techniques: the classical style, which is a walking or running motion; and freestyle, or skating, which looks like speed skating with poles.

The freestyle technique is faster. I'll be competing in the [15-kilometer] freestyle event; the 30K pursuit race—which starts out in classical style, then you go through a triathalon transition halfway through the race and change your skis and poles, then ski another 15K—and I'll also be competing in the 50K classic event at the end of the week. All three of those events are about the same for me. Unfortunately, the 15K classic, which is always my best, isn't in the Olympics this year. But I did win the 15K freestyle at U.S. Nationals. And I've put a lot of emphasis on these events this year.

The United States hasn't won an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing since Bill Koch took the silver in 1976. What are your chances? What are your goals for yourself and for the U.S. Ski Team?

To end the medal drought! I think my chances are fairly good. Last year at [the] World [Cup], I took fourth in the 15K, and that was the second time I've been fourth in the 15K at World. A 15K race is 9.3 miles, and I was 1.3 seconds from a medal. The same guys at World are at the Olympics, so there's the same level of competition, just a bigger stage. I know it's very possible for me.

I get a lot out of going to kids' [summer diabetes camps] and showing them there are no limits to what they can do. A medal would mean a lot to the sport of cross-country skiing, but for me it's more important to get my message that much further out there for kids with diabetes. And I'm not the only one with a chance [at a medal]: Kikkan Randall and Andy Newell both have a great chance. Both focus on a sprint event that's 1½K long, and they've had a lot of success. We're all rooting for each other.