When speed skater Jennifer Rodriguez labored home far off the winning pace in her final race at the 2006 Turin Olympics, she had no intention of ever returning to her sport. She took off her skates and retired home to Miami, opening a bike shop with her husband and looking forward to the next phase of her life.

But guess who's back.

Now 32 years old and divorced, the two-time bronze medalist at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics is working on a comeback -- unexpectedly inspired by a casual trip to an ice rink -- that she hopes will deliver her to her fourth Olympics in Vancouver less than a year from now. Though the difficult journey already has been a "really up-and-down process," Rodriguez recently won a World Cup race before getting sick, and will try to build on that during the World Cup finale that starts Friday at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.

"This week is probably one of the best weeks I've felt in a really, really long time," she said. "I don't really know what to expect, but at least I'm positive that things are maybe going in the right direction finally."

Americans Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick are among the other top skaters who will compete in the final meet of the World Cup season, aiming to secure season titles -- Davis leads the circuit at both 1,000 and 1,500 meters -- and enjoy a springboard into the World Single Distance Championships next weekend in Vancouver as well as the upcoming Olympic year.

Which, for Rodriguez, could be a big one.

Once one of the anchors of the American women's team, Rodriguez said she's still trying to get back in top form after taking two years off from skating, with basically only cycling as her exercise regimen. After all, it wasn't until a casual visit to a short-track speed skating practice barely a year ago near her Miami home -- "just to see some of the kids and hang around," she said -- that she even imagined returning.

"When I stepped on the ice, I immediately almost started crying, and I realized how much I really missed speed skating," she recalled. "That was kind of when I thought maybe it was a possibility to come back. But even so, I didn't think I would, because two years off in skating is a long time, and I didn't really think I could make it back."

Though she has since divorced fellow Olympic skater KC Boutiette, who introduced the former inline skater to the ice years ago, Rodriguez credits her strong support system for helping her come this far, including a move back to Park City for the sake of her training at the oval in Kearns.

Her victory in the 1,000 at a World Cup race in Nagano, Japan, about three months ago seemed to illustrate her progress, too. Her winning time of 1 minute, 16.34 seconds was only a few tenths off the winning time at that distance at the 2006 Turin Olympics, and more than a second faster than her own 10th-place time there.

So what does that mean for Vancouver?

Even Rodriguez can't be sure.

"Of course I want to medal, but I have to be realistic at the same time," she said. "I know it's possible, if I can put everything together at one time, but we'll have to see. I have to take it step by step. We'll see how it goes after summer training this year.