By Mike Pearson, News Staff

When Youth Olympian Mikey Ciccarelli was honoured by his school this week, the champion snowboarder strode through the aisles sporting a new set of crutches.

Hometown fans need not be concerned. Injuries are nothing new for Mikey, who at 15 has seen more than his fare share of sports-related bumps, bruises and broken bones.

After a recent mishap during training at Mount St. Louis Moonstone, Mikey will focus on qualifying for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

“I landed a jump weird and my leg twisted,” Mikey explained. “It’s almost healed. Two more weeks and I’ll be back at it.”

At the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, Mikey won gold in the slopestyle snowboarding event and finished fourth in the halfpipe. In slopestyle, Mikey was the only competitor to successfully execute a backside 1080 leg cork. The jump includes three full aerial rotations. It was also the first time Mikey had successfully landed the trick in competition.

On Feb. 22 a gym full of students and staff at Bishop Tonnos Catholic Secondary School watched highlights from Mikey’s gold medal run. A loud roar was generated each time Mikey’s name was mentioned. Despite the fanfare, Mikey said he doesn’t want to dwell in the spotlight.

“It’s just another thing, you know. “You just have to shoot for the next thing,” he said.

Once he recovers from the leg injury, Mikey plans to compete in Whistler. Later this summer, when other kids are enjoying the heat, Mikey will travel to a cooler destination to begin Olympic qualifying in New Zealand.

“We try to be on the snow as much as possible,” said Mikey.

As for his signature backside 1080 leg cork, fans should expect to see more of the trick in future competitions. Mikey isn’t deterred by the high degree of difficulty, nor the chance of injury when a trick doesn’t quite turn out as planned.

“That was the first time I’ve done it in competition,” said Mikey, speaking about his Youth Olympic performance. “But I’ve done it in practice like every time.”