Mikey Burdekin, left, won two silver medals at last weekend’s Masters World Championship in Short Track Speedskating at the Winter World Masters Games in Bormio, Italy.
Submitted photo
When Mikey Burdekin retired from speed skating a decade ago at the age of 22, he had an eye on making a comeback when he was 30 so that he could compete in Masters events.
But when Burdekin turned 30, a lingering hip injury wouldn’t heal, and he had to have surgery. After another nearly two years off, he returned to the ice in August at the age of 32.
Last weekend, Burdekin made his comeback complete when he won a pair of silver medals in the Masters World Championship in Short Track Speedskating at the Winter World Masters Games in Bormio, Italy. The WWMG is a multisport event open to athletes over the age 30 that is held every four years.
“The plan was to start attending them when I turned 30, but unfortunately, I had to have a major hip surgery,” Burdekin said. “It was a long two-year recovery, and this is really my first big competition back. It means a lot to me because post-surgery, I was in a wheelchair and not sure what my comeback was going to look like. So I’m very proud to get to this point two years later.”
This year’s WWMG featured about 2,000 athletes, including 93 athletes from 15 countries who participated in the short track program. Burdekin won silver medals in the 500m and the 1000m distances. The field was full of former professional speed skating athletes who have retired from the sport but chose to continue their racing career after the age of 30.
Mikey Burdekin, left, poses for a photo with other Americans at last weekend’s Masters World Championship in Short Track Speedskating at the Winter World Masters Games in Bormio, Italy.
Submitted photo
Burdekin underwent surgery on his left hip in November 2021.
“We only turn that one direction (counterclockwise), so it’s not uncommon to have injuries there,” Burdekin said. “I’m too young to have a hip replacement, so they removed bone and smoothed out all the damage. It took some time to heal.
“It was very tough,” he added. “I was on the ice as much as I could, just coaching, but it was difficult because I’ve been so athletic my whole life. It made me happy just to walk around the grocery store and not have pain. I’m more healthy than I was 10 years ago because I got this taken care of.”
After winning a national championship at age 13 in 2005, Burdekin moved to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The training center moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2009.
“When you win a national championship at that age, you get thrust into a national training program,” Burdekin said.
Burdekin competed in the 2014 Olympic Trials before retiring at age 22.
“A big reason why I retired was just the injuries,” Burdekin said. “I couldn’t do what I needed to do.”
While in Salt Lake City, Burdekin met speed skater and Columbus native Taylor Wentz, and they eventually were married. They moved to Columbus in the spring of 2018. Later that year, they started Full Throttle Speed Skating, a club based at Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena.
Mikey competed with Full Throttle in a couple of smaller regional events in late 2023 to prepare for the Masters World Championship. He now has his sights on the national championships on March 16-18 in Bay City, Michigan.
“I’m very happy,” Burdekin said. “You always want the gold, and that’s the motivation you have. But my races were almost as fast as when I was 17, 18 years old. So to get back to the level that I thought I would never achieve again is very satisfying for me. It shows that all the hard work paid off.”
