Motocross riders are some of the toughest competitors in all sport and Brighton sensation Campbell King is no exception.
Despite a sprained ankle, he battled to victory in a national event last weekend.
Sustaining bumps, bruises and coming off your motorbike at speed is all par for the motocross course.
Accordingly, King has had his fair share of injuries, including a disabling case of torticollis, or wry neck and a severed anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
So when he was hurtling round the track in the third outing of his five-race campaign at the New Zealand Junior Motocross Championships and crashed, King (14) gritted his teeth and got back on his Honda 150cc.
An after-race inspection revealed a sprained ankle with an accompanying bone bruise.
"I could hardly walk," he said.
Strapping it for the next day's two races meant he was hurting but able to compete.
He finished second in the penultimate race and, knowing he had to win the final one to take overall victory, he went out and won.
"I had to get the adrenaline going and try to block it out. Every jump and landing, it was pretty sore."
The 12 to 16 years 150cc class triumph signifies a successful step up to a four-stroke 150cc machine from his former two-stroke, 85cc ride.
"They are basically the same but now I have better control because the four-stroke is better for cornering."
His performance last weekend would have come under close scrutiny from Motorcycling New Zealand, which in three months will name the nation's elite to compete in August's World Junior Motocross Championships.
The team's 30 riders will be split in half according to age (12 to 15 years and 15 to 18 years) for the Taupo-based event.
A Kings High School year 10 pupil, King has been training in the elite preparation squad and received a phone call from MNZ to say his chances of making the final cut were looking good.
