Lacerated kidney cost him his shot
Though jet-lagged from a long trip home from South Korea, he was still pulling for Canada’s slopestylers to land on the podium. After all, to him they’re more than guys wearing the Maple Leaf. They’re friends.
But he’s not going to lie. It was tough to watch. Even when they took silver and bronze.
“The whole time I was watching I was like, s — t man, I could’ve done it.” Mikey Ciccarelli says.
He very well could have. Had things gone just a tiny bit differently over the past couple months he might’ve been wearing a medal today.
It was back in December that the Ancaster native was looking like more than a good bet to grab the baton from retired local snowboarder Brad Martin and make the Olympic team. Canada had four spots for slopestyle — and six top riders to fill them.
Including the 21-year-old who’d almost locked in his spot. One more good result at an event in China and he’d be there.
The top half of his second run had been clean. So far so good. Then as he launched himself off the first jump he twisted and spun and contorted himself into a front 10 double. For the nonboarders among us, that’s two flips and three full rotations.
“I was trying to do a big trick on a small jump,” he says.
He landed it, but was just slightly off kilter. That caused him to lose an edge and throw himself violently forward onto the hard snow. He was winded, but he’d had hard falls before. He figured he was OK, just a little
bruised. He got up, rode to the bottom of the course and began mentally preparing for his final run.
When he mentioned to some of his teammates how he’d crashed — with his elbow pinned between his body and the ground — they suggested he go have a pee. They’d all had internal injuries to one degree or another through their careers, and thought he should just check. So he found a washroom and went. Then he immediately began to panic.
“It was gnarly,” he says. “I literally peed clots of blood.”
Turns out he’d lacerated his kidney. Which meant no final run. No snowboarding for a few months. No extra points. And no Olympic team. No matter how hard he begged. Not even when he asked his doctor if the kidney could just be removed, so he could get back on the hill for the last event of the qualifying season.
In sports, there’s no good time for an injury. Even so, this was a particularly lousy moment.
“If you do go there and podium, it’ll change your life,” he says of the Olympics. “I want to change my life.”
Instead, he was sentenced to bed rest for a couple months. Mercifully, the bleeding stopped after a week or so.
But he was a hostage to his recovering body. It was only a couple weeks ago that he finally received clearance to get back on the slopes. Two days into his return, he was on the mountain when his phone rang. Canada apparently learned it could take an alternate to the Games. Would he like to go to Pyeonchang as a backup in case one of the four riders couldn’t compete, the caller asked?
“Yeah,” he answered. “I guess.”
So he flew over. He was presented with his Canadian Olympic gear, rode the course a few times — sticking his landings consistently, he says — visited the Athletes’ Village and prepared for anything. For three days he was basically an Olympian. Until 48 hours before the event when the final roster had to be submitted.
He wasn’t on it. The dream was over. So he flew home to Whistler, where he lives.
Ciccarelli just knew he could’ve been competitive. He’s beaten the American who took gold many times. He’s won medals against guys in this field a few times. He liked the track and felt it suited him. He’s positive he could’ve done well. But what’s that old line about if’s and but’s?
As a result, watching the competition unfold on TV wasn’t easy. Even for a pretty laid-back guy.
“Honestly, it was really hard,” he says. “I was riding the course really good and doing my tricks. I was like, damn.”
Of course, he was thrilled for Mark McMorris and Max Parrot. Their medals are great for the Canadian program. One that’s already so good some say it’s the hardest snowboarding team in the world to make. Had he held any other passport, he would have been there.
But as one run followed another, it dawned on him he had to wait four years for his next chance. He was that close. That stings a little bit, he admits.
Actually, maybe more than a little bit.