Local Athlete Brings Home Gold
Red Deer’s Molly Simpson wins first gold medal at UCI BMX Racing World Cup
(Story Credit: Ian Gustafson/Red Deer Advocate Staff) (Photo Credit: Molly Simpson/Navadanet)
Red Deer’s Molly Simpson captured her first career BMX world cup gold medal earlier this month.
On June 12 the 19-year-old represented Canada during the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) BMX Racing World Cup in the Netherlands, coming in first in the women’s under-23 race with a time of 31.151.
“It was pretty cool, I mean world cups are the best of the best they’re like the NHL of BMX so I was super happy to stick to my process and pull out a win,” Simpson told the Advocate.
Simpson has been to six world cups and at such a young age she’s happy to achieve her first win.
“Usually it takes quite a while. Some riders are you know 27 or 28 and they’re still looking for that number one position at a world cup event,” she explained.
She previously won two bronze and a silver medal during a world cup event but none of them are as sweet as this year’s gold medal.
“I have a really good team behind me and a really good support system and my coaches, they guide me and I really just trust my process and I work hard every day. Just fighting to be the best so I just have a really good determination and a really good drive,” she said.
The competition at the UCI BMX Racing World Cup she said is the best racers in the sport which includes Olympic champions and have been doing it for many years.
Simpson, for the most part, competes in international races overseas but also races in domestic competitions when she can. When she turned 14 she was asked to be on the development national team and after progression, she made the Canadian national team competing in races all over the world. Before competing for her country, she started racing at 10 years old, which she said is a late bloomer in the sport.
“It’s pretty cool to wear the Canadian national team jersey and seeing all the other countries I just feel pretty proud t see the red and white. It’s kind of cool because Canada is on the smaller side for the BMX community, so when I do go to international events in larger races we’re kind of classified as more exotic,” she added. “It just makes it that much more special.”
What got her into the sport was her cousin Mitchell Rindal who competed at a high level and was ranked second in the world.
“I would always look at pictures and videos of him and I told myself I would like to try that one day. And I grew up playing hockey and then I gave BMX a try and that was it,” Simpson said.
For children interested in the sport, Simpson said It’s important to have fun and really enjoy the process of learning, competing, and not getting caught up in the results of your races.
