The moment Jordan Malone’s dreams of the 2006 Turin Games died, after he’d skated at the U.S. Olympic short-track speedskating trials on a broken right ankle, he headed straight for his No. 1 teammate in the stands.

The Denton kid wrapped his mother, Peggy Aitken, in an embrace. Nothing had to be said. This was already clear:

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Denton native Jordan Malone, 25, will compete in short track speed skating at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sept. 8-12 in Marquette, Mich. U.S. national short-track coach Jae Su Chun predicts Malone will “make the podium” at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February.

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Heckuva try.

Love you.

This won’t be the end.

Almost four years later, Malone’s improbable story has continued. From Sept. 8-12 at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Marquette, Mich., Malone will try again, this time for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in February.

Jae Su Chun, the national short-track coach, predicts Malone, 25, will “make the podium” in Canada.

A 5-6, 140-pound double-shot of 5-Hour Energy, Malone doesn’t have the soul patch or five Olympic medals that have made U.S. teammate Apolo Anton Ohno famous. But after all kinds of crashes along the way, his resilience and spirit keep him moving forward.

“This has become my passion,” Malone said. “I live every day just to get on the ice, and every day, it’s what can I do today?”

If Vancouver is to be a reality, Malone must remain healthy.

Racing on ice at 25 mph on 1.1-millimeter blades and with Malone’s track record, that’s not a given.

When he was a world-champion inline skater in the summer of 2002, Malone plowed his face into a timing box on the track in Switzerland, requiring CPR after he stopped breathing. He still has four titanium pieces in his rebuilt jaw.

His list of breaks and bruises is extensive, including the ankle injury during training in California a month before the 2006 trials. Malone had surgery to remove shattered bone and competed days after being back on skates.

“You really can’t have regrets. You can’t leave anything to question,” Malone said. “So I just did everything I possibly could. ... I didn’t let myself be that disappointed. I’m a spiritual guy, and everything happens for a reason.”

He finished eighth in spite of the injury, but only the top five made the team.

In the past year or so, Malone has broken his foot, undergone surgery to remove a bone spur from the joint in his hip and had nasal reconstructive surgery to improve his breathing.

As the trials approach, Malone, who trains at the U.S. Speedskating headquarters in Kearns, Utah, said he finds himself being more careful.

Chun said Malone has a better chance to remain healthy because his ice technique has improved from earlier in his career, when he still had a lot of inline tendencies. Malone switched to ice only a year before the 2006 Olympics, surprising everyone with his rapid ascent to the national team and world medals.

Chun has tried to pull Malone back in training in hopes of saving the body, but that’s not a given.

“I want to run myself into the ground with training so I’m just ready,” for the trials, Malone said. “Let’s just do it already.”

Whether his body holds up may be at question, but Malone’s energetic attitude rarely falters.

He believes life needs a soundtrack, and he lives like it.

He’s collected several iPods with music to be used in different situations: in the shower, in the car, for traveling and for training.

“Life would be boring without music,” said Malone, whose teammates call him “Headphone Malone” — among other nicknames — because he always has them on. “Can you imagine society without music?”

Malone keeps his teammates loose in practice by being a bit of a goofball. He likes to chat, about anything — taking care of his skates’ blades, his dog “Oly” (short for Olympics), his three roommates, his passion for paintball.

Then there’s the thrill that comes with speedskating.

“There’s something satisfying about whacking the crap out of a golf ball, right?” he said. “It’s that sensation that keeps people playing golf. Skating, it’s more than going around in circles. It’s the pressure on your legs, the body position, the wind in your hair ... it’s this feeling you’re searching for every time you’re on ice. Feeling perfect on the ice.”

It’s not just the injuries that have made getting that feeling a challenge.

Malone has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, something his mother said will always be a part of him. Because of banned substance regulations, he takes only an herb to try to control it, and skating has always helped.

Malone also had to overcome dyslexia and asthma.

After Malone found inline skating, he’d train in empty church and hospital parking lots and half-built subdivisions. Aitken got a mo-ped to ride along — just to make sure Malone didn’t get hurt.

“We’ve been a team his whole life,” said Aitken, who has owned a business for 20-years and sells Microsoft software.

Speedskaters produced 10 of 25 American medals in Turin, and Ohno found broad fame when he won Dancing with the Stars in 2007. But Olympic speedskating isn’t always a glamorous gig.

The poor economy hasn’t skipped over the Olympic movement. Malone said his funding from U.S. Speedskating has dropped dramatically, and he and his teammates have struggled as corporations pull back.

Malone did independently find a new sponsor — an area Coca-Cola bottler — after meeting him at a Dallas Stars game.

His grandmother is planning a fundraiser for him July 19 at her RV park in Sanger. Aitken said he hopes to stir up support at Denton-area sports bars after Malone officially makes the team at the trials — that is, of course, if all goes well this time.

Aitken treasures how her son responded in one of his biggest disappointments four years ago. She said she thinks he’ll respond the same way after one of his greatest successes.

“Sometimes it’s the I-did-it times,” Aitken said. “I get the biggest, tightest hug, and then off he goes.”