Four Wells brothers, one Winter Olympics goal

Four Wells brothers, one Winter Olympics goal

Qualifying events for the next Olympic Winter Games start in just few weeks, and for the Wells brothers of Wanaka that means yet another northern hemisphere winter awaits.

But the four have had very different build-ups this time around.

The Wells brothers are no strangers to the operating table - it's just part and parcel of a being an action sports athlete.

Two of the four are currently on the comeback trail - Byron had shoulder surgery, Beau-James a knee.

"My left knee bent inwards all the way to the floor, and even though I had loud music on I heard the most vicious popping sound in my life," Beau-James recalls.

And they only need to look to the oldest brother Jossi for inspiration. He broke his neck in 2014, only to return to competition and win X Games gold in January.

Last weekend he also won New Zealand Snow Sport Athlete of the Year for the third time.

"I made a dedication to myself that I once got back on skis I'd give it my all, and this last year was a reflection of the mentality coming out of that injury," Jossi says.

Youngest brother Jackson's also had a breakthrough year, capped off by his "quad cork" in September - the first time it's ever been done on skis.

"It blew up on the internet pretty quick, wasn't expecting that - I had to charge up my phone three times that day," Jackson says.

"It's like Roger Bannister with the four-minute mile - once he broke it a whole heap of others then followed," dad and coach Bruce Wells says.

Now the focus turns to the next Winter Olympics in South Korea in 2018 with all the brothers, except Beau James, heading overseas for qualifying events.

After his fourth in Russia, Jossi says he'll be better prepared.

"I don't think I grasped the magnitude of it until I went to the opening ceremony and went, 'Whoa, this is the real deal.'"

While Byron's got unfinished business.

"I was a bit bummed at Sochi, hurt myself on the first day of training, so it's been a thing with me to go back and see how I do and all that, definitely going for 2018."

Potentially all four could compete in either the slope style or the half-pipe.

"It would be nice to bring home four medals wouldn't it?" Bruce says.

But first you have to stay healthy, and that's not easy when pushing limits is critical to success.

Newshub.