Local snowboard crosser Brandon Cain has made a remarkable comeback from the operating table to the podium in the space of 12 months.

The 21-year-old from Kirk Michael suffered serious injuries midway through the 2018 season in a training accident.

Currently based at Aschau im Zillertal in the Tyrol region of Austria, Brandon explained: ’Last year I exploded my spleen and damaged my appendix.

’I had emergency surgery to remove a ruptured spleen, appendix and two litres of blood from my stomach. I was very lucky not to have died.’

Almost precisely 12 months later, after what he described as a long, long grind to get himself back, the brave young Manxman had a podium finish with a third place in his first race back in the Czech Republic in February.

Continuing with the European snowboard cross race circuit he achieved two more podium finishes (first and second) in early March, again in the Czech Republic.

Following on from these he grabbed a fifth place in Austria and a seventh in Italy.

These good results gained him the points he required to make him eligible to race at World Cup level. He says that will hopefully be happening in the next couple of years.

In the last fortnight, Brandon competed at the Europa Cup meeting in Lenk, Switzerland where he placed 16th, the best British male athlete finish of the season and the highest-ranked British male athlete overall at 116th in the world.

Having recently had an Aston International Scholarship confirmed for next season, Brandon is quick to acknowledge how thankful he is for the Isle of Man Sport Aid programme over recent years.

He said that it has been superb in getting his physical and mental fitness back in time to race again this season.

Brandon was educated at Kirk Michael Primary School, QEII High School and Isle of Man College. He first tried skiing, then transferred to snowboarding at the age of 13.

He took the advice of local Winter Olympian, Zoe Gillings-Brier, to attend a summer camp in Austria in 2015, rather than a pre-selection camp in the UK, to assess whether he was up to standard.

l Anyone interested in taking up the sport of snowboard cross - involving training, competing and living in Austria over a six-month period in the winter - is encouraged to get in touch with Brandon. He can refer individuals to the team manager about how to get into the discipline. Brandon can be contacted via email on [email protected]