Seth Wescott talks about his Olympic experience and future at Sugarloaf during a press conference Saturday morning. CARRABASSETT VALLEY — On Saturday morning, at a press conference in the Grand Summit Hotel, Seth Wescott talked about his Olympic experience, his plans for the next four years, and stressed the importance of his roots.

The 2010 Winter Games were more hectic than the last time around, said Wescott. His competition was earlier in the games and following his Gold medal win, he was up early in the mornings to do interviews so they would be in time for the morning news broadcast on the east coast.

“I was running on caffeine and adrenaline,” said Wescott. He said he went for 48 hours without a meal at one point.

Despite the hectic schedule, and not being on a snowboard for 15 days following his win, Wescott said the victory this time around was a lot more meaningful.

Cassie Fotter and Kim Johnson have their picture taken with Seth during a “Locals” welcome back party at the Rack last week. (Danielle London photo) “It’s pretty exciting to be recognized along with other great athletes,” said Wescott, who named Mohammad Ali as one.

Making this victory sweeter was the fact that he also had to work a lot harder to get into competition shape. In 2007 he shattered his arm and said it was frustrating to get back into physical shape. Then a leg injury earlier this season was a concern. But it all seemed to come together in time for the X-Games in late January for Wescott, where he won a Silver medal.

The SBX Olympic athletes also had to battle adverse weather conditions during their training runs. “The conditions were bad,” said Wescott. The snow was mushy, it was windy and two training sessions were cancelled.

Mei Kato (photo at left), a foreign exchange student from Japan, asks Seth to sign her i-Pod. Kato was very excited about meeting the Gold medal winner and couldn’t wait to tell her friends back home. On the day of the race, Wescott somehow knew it was going to be a good day. He was assigned bib number 17, which happened to be his soccer number all through school. “I had that feeling,” he said.

“It’s good to come home to this,” said Wescott on his return to Sugarloaf.

“Sugarloaf has always been home,” he said. “You can’t get a sense of home by changing your roots. I can go anywhere to find snow… it just never crossed my mind (to live somewhere else). I’ve always felt more at home here than anywhere else in the world.”

Wescott is looking forward to the next four years, which include some down time, and another bid for Olympic Gold in Sochi. “I’m getting ready for a threepeat,” he said, which is great news for the snowboard industry.

He leaves soon for a SBX tour across the U.S. Wescott believes that this tour, his gold medal wins, and the increased popularity of snowboarding will help develop other courses across the U.S. “Freestyle is becoming unattainable,“ said Wescott, referring to Shaun White’s success as an example. “But kids can legitimately look at snowboard- and skier-cross as something to strive for.”

After traveling with the SBX tour for a few months, he’s looking forward to coming home and relaxing a bit. “I’m excited for next winter to have a little more down time than usual. I’ve been on the road since 1996.” Wescott believes that rest is an incredibly important component to training.

Wescott has plans for the future following the 2014 Winter Games. He says he will stay right here in Carrabassett Valley and work closely with Sugarloaf to further develop the mountain.

“Sugarloaf is in my heart. We have a great facility here — CVA, the Anti-Gravity Complex and Sugarloaf. And there’s a whole other mountain to the left of Sugarloaf.” Wescott sees incredible potential that has yet to be realized and is looking forward to becoming involved.

He also has some advice for young skiers and boarders who want to follow their dreams.

“Have belief in yourself. It’s all about taking small steps –-it’s not gonna happen overnight,” he said, noting that perseverance is key.

“Kids need to understand that there will be bumps and bruises along the way. There are only a few “wonder kids” out there –-they are few and far between. If you continue to work hard, you can go where you want to go.”