By CASEY OLSON, The Mirror

J.R. Celski is back to being one of the best short track speedskaters in the United States.

The Federal Way native recently brought home five gold medals from the 2007 United States Junior Short Track Championships in Bay City, Mich.

Celski, 17, will next skate at the US Senior Short Track Championships on Dec. 21 in Salt Lake City. He qualified for the elite-level event for all ages by finishing third overall at the American Cup II in New York last month.

Celski will also skate at the World Junior Short Track Championships Jan. 11-13 in Bolzano, Italy. The world championships feature the top skaters under 19 years old from all the top speedskating countries.

Celski skated at the 2006 World Junior Short Track Championships as a 15-year-old and his best individual finish came in the 500-meter race. Celski earned a bronze medal in the shortest race of the weekend.

Celski recently took an 18-month break from competitive speed skating after suffering a back injury at the 2006 Junior World Championships and returned home to Federal Way for his junior year of high school at Todd Beamer. Celski had been living in Southern California and training with heralded coach Wilma Boomstra in Long Beach.

He has since moved back to California to continue his training in pursuit of making the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com