After a season that saw her achieve the highest honours available in her field, Paralympic skier and gold medalist Alana Nichols has come home.

Paralympic skier and gold medalist Alana Nichols

Nichols was the guest of honour at an event at the Totah Theatre, celebrating her recent accomplishments during the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. She won two gold, a bronze and a silver medal in a variety of events before the March games were complete.

The event was organised by the Farmington native's local friends who wanted the opportunity to share Nichols' achievements with the Four Corners.

"They all wanted to do something special for me, so they took care of creating it," Nichols said.

Matt Camacho was one of the friends who helped organise the events and also served as master of ceremonies for the evening.

"She's an awesome person and she's my friend first and foremost before she's an Olympic medalist," Camacho said.

Camacho hoped more people might become aware of some of the hurdles Nichols had to clear after a snowboarding accident in 2000 paralysed the athlete's legs.

"I saw that girl right after her accident. She was hurt and she was broken and she was able to rise back from that and do so many things that everyone is jealous of," Camacho said.

During the evening, Nichols showed off her medals and answered some questions to try and help spread awareness of the power of disabled sports.

"I love to tell people about the Paralympic Games and combat some of the stereotypes. It's a lot of fun," Nichols said.

Nichols' friends surprised her during the event with a proclamation from the city of Farmington making May 7 "Alana Nichols Day."

"It's a surprise for Alana. That's going to be the climax of excitement after some of the awards are done," Camacho said.

Farmington Mayor Tommy Roberts, who signed the proclamation Tuesday, said the story of Nichols' success had touched many lives.

"Alana has been an inspiration to a lot of people. People with disabilities and those without," Roberts said.(The End)