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UPDATE: Ricker still shooting for Sochi despite broken arm

Maëlle Ricker is hopeful that she will be ready to defend her 2010 Olympic snowboard cross gold medal this month in Sochi, Russia, despite a serious arm injury she suffered last week during a training session.
Ricker
Maëlle Ricker soars down the Cypress ski cross course during her run to gold at the 2010 Olympic Games. The West Vancouver native broke her arm in training last week but still hopes to compete in the Sochi Olympics.

Maëlle Ricker is hopeful that she will be ready to defend her 2010 Olympic snowboard cross gold medal this month in Sochi, Russia, despite a serious arm injury she suffered last week during a training session.

The West Vancouver native underwent surgery on a compound fracture of her left forearm Wednesday after suffering the injury while training in Aspen, Colo., on Tuesday.

Despite the setback, Ricker appeared to be upbeat following the injury, joking about the pain she'll likely feel when she is forced to use her injured arm to propel herself out of the starting gates in Sochi.

"My goal is to be ready for the start gate in Sochi but I'll definitely hate pulling out of it!" she said in a Snowboard Canada release. "I've had a lot of injuries in my career and it's important to stay positive and focus on the privilege of competing for Canada at the Olympics."

A statement from Snowboard Canada released Friday indicated that Ricker's arm was in a half cast and she was recuperating in Vail, Colo. She'll soon return to her home in Squamish to rest and rehabilitate before heading to Russia.

"The surgery couldn't have gone any better and we're extremely pleased with the outcome," said Canada Snowboard medical director Dr. Jim Bovard, a North Vancouver-based sports doctor.

Ricker is expected to travel to Russia with the rest of the team as scheduled on Feb. 8. "Our coaches and medical team will continue to work with the Canadian Olympic Committee to do everything we can to support Maëlle and make sure that she goes to the start gate on February 16 with competition confidence," Canada Snowboard executive director Steven Hills said in the release. "We know that Canada will be cheering her on."

Ricker famously won on Cypress Mountain in 2010, becoming the first Canadian woman ever to earn an Olympic gold medal on home soil. Sochi would be her fourth Olympic Games following appearances in halfpipe in 1998 - the first ever Olympic snowboard event - and snowboard cross in 2006 and 2010.

The 35-year-old boarder grew up in West Vancouver, a short drive away from the venue that saw her claim Olympic gold.