Injured snowboarder Kevin Pearce gets welcome home party in Vermont

Injured snowboarder gets welcome home party in Vt

NORWICH, Vt. — Injured snowboarder Kevin Pearce says he’s grateful for the hometown support he’s received and hopes to eventually return to the sport.

Pearce spent four months in the hospital with a brain injury suffered while training for the Vancouver Olympics. He was welcomed home Saturday in a ceremony on the village green in Norwich, Vt.

Hand-lettered signs — “Kevin is Home” and “KP Our Hometown Hero” — decorated the gazebo where he stood. A fire engine blew its horn to salute him as about 200 people turned out to hear Pearce and his family give thanks for the support they’ve received during his recovery.

The 22-year-old halfpipe whiz was injured on Dec. 31.