A gym at the Sunshine Coast may seem to be an unlikely setting for winter Olympic prospects, but when Australian bobsled pilot Astrid Loch-Wilkinson walked into the complex and asked then body builder Ebony Lynch if she'd like to give the sport a go, the former Warrnambool woman jumped at the chance.

Almost 12 months on, Lynch, 24, is in the US trying to qualify for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Father Les Lynch, of Port Fairy, couldn't be prouder.

He said his daughter was unlikely to return home for Christmas or the New Year, especially if she qualified for the Olympics.

"The plan is if she makes it, we'll go over (to the winter Olympics)," he said.

"Ebony's been pretty lucky. It's unusual."

The absence of snow in Warrnambool is no handicap for bobsled events.

Loch-Wilkinson is also a Sunshine Coast resident and the warm weather failed to stop her competing at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics where, with brakewoman Kylie Reed, she finished 14th.

While Lynch is aiming for Olympic glory, she'll be hoping to have a better run than the popular Jamaican bobsled team, which was the inspiration for the hit movie Cool Runnings.

Despite being a crowd favourite, the Jamaican team didn't finish at the 1998 Calgary Winter Olympics after it lost control of its sled and crashed during one of its four runs.

Lynch withdrew from her first qualifying race three weeks ago at Utah Olympic Park.

Loch-Wilkinson, with new push partner Cecilia McIntosh, drove to a silver and bronze at the US qualifying event.

Lynch is still listed as a Vancouver hopeful on the Australia Winter Olympic Team website.

The qualification process is still to be completed.

The Winter Olympics are set to start on February 12.