A year ago Aaron Mah was nursing a bad knee after a rough landing tore two ligaments and his meniscus.
On Thursday, the 17-year-old Vancouver gymnast was standing on the podium's highest perch after claiming gold for a challenging floor routine.
"I had a goal to come in and win a gold so I'm happy that it came through," said Mah after competing in the finals of four of the six individual men's events.
Mah also won silver in the horizontal bar and came fourth in rings and fifth in vault.
"I've got one of each now," he said of the medals, after winning a bronze in the team event with B.C. on Monday.
He said his floor routine is the most challenging of his events, especially the first line - a front flip with two and a half twists.
That combination isn't required, but Mah said executing difficult moves is part of his strategy.
"Usually the cleanliness of my gymnastics isn't up to par with the other guys, like my execution, so I try to perform harder skills so it balances out," said Mah.
At the Northern Sport Centre the strategy worked, earning him 14.35 points ahead of second-place Felix Dolci of Quebec in floor, who scored 14.05.
"I love the feeling of learning new skills and putting them in my routines and constantly pushing the bar for new difficulty," Mah said.
The only thing he regretted was his placing - fourth - in the all-around event. He thought he had a chance to medal, but fell on the pommel horse.
"You have to move on, brush it off," he said of the sport's mental game. "In order to get to the high level, you've got to be willing to fall down and get back up."
It's Mah's second time at the Canada Winter Games, but in Halifax in 2011, he was the youngest on Team B.C.
"It's definitely a total 180, like I'm the team captain now. It's a lot different"
Mah is considered one of the top gymnasts in Canada - he won the all-around event in the national championships in May - and is headed to the University of California, Berkeley on a gymnastics scholarship.
He said it's a good fit for him to keep training toward his dream and a strong academic institution where he'll study sciences.
Mah said it took hours of physiotherapy to get him back and competition-ready. His sport involves a heavy commitment: he practices five hours a day, something friends don't always understand.
"It's hard to stay motivated a lot of the time especially when all your friends are doing things and you're in the gym," he said.
But he's focused on his dream of making the Olympics, hopefully in 2020.
"It all ends up being worth it, moments like today, standing up on the podium, the home crowd cheering for you. All the hard work, it's just definitely worth it."
