Sarah Walker (BMX rider)

Last updated

Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker 2024 (cropped).jpg
Walker in 2024
Personal information
Full nameSarah Louise Walker
NicknameShazza
Born (1988-07-10) 10 July 1988 (age 36) [1]
Whakatāne, New Zealand
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Team information
Current teamFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Discipline BMX racing
RoleRacer
Rider typeOff road
Medal record
Representing Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Women's BMX racing
Event1st2nd3rd
Olympic Games 010
World Championships 333
World Junior Championships 021
World Cup 103
World Cup rounds 000
Oceania Championships310
Total777
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2012 London BMX racing
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Victoria BMX cruiser
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2009 Adelaide BMX cruiser
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2009 AdelaideBMX racing
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2007 VictoriaBMX racing
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 Pietermaritzburg BMX racing
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Copenhagen BMX racing
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2008 Taiyuan BMX racing
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2008 TaiyuanBMX cruiser
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Heusden-Zolder BMX time trial
World Cup
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 BMX racing
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2007 BMX racing
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2008 BMX racing
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 BMX racing
Oceania Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2011 PukekoheBMX racing
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2016 AucklandBMX racing
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 BunburyBMX racing
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2019 Te AwamutuBMX racing
World Junior Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2005 ParísBMX racing
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2006 São PauloBMX cruiser
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2006 São PauloBMX racing

Sarah Louise Walker (born 10 July 1988) is a New Zealand BMX racer. A competitor at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, she won silver in the Women's BMX at the latter event. Missing out on selection for the 2016 Summer Olympics due to injury, she was elected onto the IOC Athletes' Commission during those Games. In 2022, she was elected as its second vice-chair. [2]

Contents

Early life

Walker was born in Whakatāne in the Bay of Plenty, and grew up in nearby Kawerau. [3] Of Māori and European descent, [4] she attended Kawerau South School [3] and Trident High School in Whakatāne. [5]

BMX career

Walker took up BMX due to sibling rivalry; she wanted to be able to do what her younger brother could do, and do it better than him. [6] In the 2008 season UCI Rounds, Walker won seven races, came second in one race and didn't race two races. She was ranked number one in the world by the UCI in 2008, [7] and was one of the favourites to win the BMX women's event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the end she finished fourth. [6] Walker has won a total of twelve New Zealand 20" titles from 1999 to 2011.

On 25 July 2009, Walker won the BMX World Championship in Adelaide, Australia in both the Elite Women and the Elite Cruiser Women events. [8] [9]

At the 2010 BMX World Championship in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Walker finished second in the Elite Women's event, with first place going to Shanaze Reade. A crash during the Elite Cruiser event meant that Walker was not able hold on to her 2009 championship title. [10]

In 2011, Walker made the podium in three out of four World Cup events to win the overall World Cup title, winning the Papendal Supercross in the Netherlands, second at the Test Event in London and third in South Africa. The fourth event was in USA where she finished sixth. [11]

At the 2012 Supercross in Norway, Walker dislocated her shoulder, which almost put her out of contention for the Olympics in London. After six weeks, she had to qualify for the Olympics at the World Championships in Birmingham, England where she did so with a fifth place in the semi-final. [12]

At the September 2014 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup race in California, Walker had a fall and suffered a serious head injury. [13] Whilst her helmet cam recorded her calmly giving detailed accounts to medical staff of what happened to her, she has no recollection of the entire day. She had daily headaches for the next six weeks, and it was five months before she received medical clearance. [6] As of February 2016, Walker has experienced a total of 15 fractures during her BMX career. [14]

As well as competing in BMX events around the world, Walker has also been the marketing face for Beef + Lamb New Zealand since 2008. [15] She is a sponsored rider for Avanti Bikes, using their line of ABD BMX bikes when racing. [1]

Olympic career

Walker wanted to become an Olympic athlete ever since watching New Zealand swimmer Danyon Loader receiving his gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics. [6] She was about to start track cycling and quit BMX when it was announced as an Olympic sport for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, [6] and this was the first Games she attended, competing in the women's BMX. In the medals race, she ran a time of 38.805, finishing fourth. In the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics she got a silver medal, with a time of 38.644. [6] She missed being nominated for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to breaking her arm during training in February 2016. [6] During the Rio Games, it was announced that she had been elected onto the IOC Athletes' Commission; whilst initially missing out to Yelena Isinbayeva, president Thomas Bach proposed that Walker be added to the group. [16]

Sponsorship and advertising work

Walker is an ambassador for Beef and Lamb New Zealand, alongside other athlete ambassadors Lisa Carrington, Eliza McCartney and Sophie Pascoe. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shanaze Reade</span> English bicycle motocross rider and track cyclist (born 1988)

Shanaze Danielle Reade is a British former bicycle motocross (BMX) racer and track cyclist whose prime competitive years began in 2002. She has won the UCI BMX World Championships three times. Reade is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Irish mother.

The women's BMX racing competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 20–22 at the Laoshan BMX Field, the first to be officially featured in the Olympic cycling program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lieke Klaus</span> Dutch BMX racer (born 1989)

Lieke Klaus is a Dutch BMX racer.

Samantha "Sammy" Cools is a Canadian BMX racer. Born in Calgary, Alberta, she was introduced to the sport by her brothers Ken Cools, coach of the New Zealand BMX team, and Greg. She currently lives in Ganddal, Norway.

Caroline Buchanan is an Australian cyclist who has won multiple world championships in BMX racing and mountain biking. She represented Australia at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's BMX event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariana Pajón</span> Colombian cyclist (born 1991)

Mariana Pajón Londoño ODB OLY is a Colombian cyclist, two-time Olympic gold medalist and BMX World Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stefany Hernández</span> Venezuelan cyclist (born 1991)

Stefany Hernández is a Venezuelan racing cyclist who represents Venezuela in BMX racing. She represented Venezuela at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's BMX racing event. She was fifth in her semifinal heat and not succeed to qualify into the final. Her final standing was ninth. She became BMX World Champion on 25 July 2015 at Zolder, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriela Díaz</span> Argentine BMX cyclist

María Gabriela Díaz is an Argentine professional BMX cyclist. Emerging as the world's most decorated female BMX rider in history, Diaz has claimed multiple Argentine national titles, six Pan American championship titles, and five medals in women's elite category at the UCI World Championships. She also won two medals, including a prestigious gold, in the same category at the Pan American Games, and later represented her nation Argentina at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

New Zealand competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twenty-third appearance as an independent nation at the Summer Olympics, having made its debut at the 1920 Games and competed at every Games since. The New Zealand team consisted of 199 athletes, 100 women and 99 men, across twenty sports, the first time New Zealand was represented by more women than men at the Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliza McCartney</span> New Zealand pole vaulter (born 1996)

Eliza McCartney is a New Zealand track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault and won the bronze medal in this event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the current New Zealand and Oceania record holder at 4.94 m, and is the outdoor world junior record holder at 4.64 m. She also won the silver medal at the Summer Universiade in 2015. In 2018, she placed second at the Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Podmore</span> New Zealand cyclist (1997–2021)

Olivia Rose Podmore was a New Zealand professional racing cyclist. She represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felicia Stancil</span> American bicycle racer (born 1995)

Felicia Stancil is an American female BMX rider. Stancil has won 14 UCI World Titles including the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships titles for Junior Women and the Junior Women Time Trial in Birmingham, United Kingdom. A year later she successfully defended both titles at the 2013 UCI BMX World Championships in New Zealand. At the 2015 Pan American Games, Stancil won gold in her first international win as a professional. The win resulted in the first gold medal won by the United States at the 2015 games. After reaching the final in all ten races on the 2019 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup series, Stancil finished out the year 2nd in the overall standings. Adding on to her successful 2019, Stancil was awarded the 2019 Golden Crank Pro of the Year Title by Pull Magazine.

Nadja Pries is a German BMX racer, representing her nation in international competitions. She competed in the time trial event and race event at the 2015 UCI BMX World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Janssen</span> Australian cyclist

Madison Janssen is an Australian cyclist. She is a world champion, multiple national champion and a world record holder. In May 2016 she was named as part of the Australian cycling team as the sighted pilot for Jessica Gallagher for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, where they won a bronze medal in the Women's 1000m time trial.

Anthony Dean is an Australian BMX cyclist. He qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics & The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and competed in the men's BMX Racing.

The 2016 in cycling results is given as follows:

Saya Sakakibara is an Australian cyclist competing in BMX racing events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beth Shriever</span> British BMX rider (born 1999)

Bethany Kate Shriever is a British cyclist, competing as a BMX racer. A World Junior champion in 2017, and winner of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup final event in Zolder in 2018, in 2021 Shriever won both the Olympic and World titles, equalling the feat of Colombian Mariana Pajón, who won Olympic silver.

Rebecca Petch is a New Zealand cyclist who competes in BMX Racing and track cycling. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Women's BMX race. She was a silver medalist in the track in the team sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Leila Walker is a BMX racer from New Zealand. She became New Zealand national champion in 2024 and was selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sarah Walker: Queen of the Track". Avanti . Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Sarah Walker". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  3. 1 2 Shanks, Katee (24 September 2012). "Kawerau out in force to welcome Sarah Walker home". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "TangataWhenua.com presents: The 21 Most Influential Maori in 2010". Tangatawhenua.com . 23 December 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  5. ↑ Caspari, Abigail (5 September 2005). "Riding her way to success". Rotorua Daily Post. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rattue, Chris (26 February 2016). "BMX star takes battering but won't be broken". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "2008 UCI BMX rankings: Individual Ranking - Women Elite. Overall Ranking". Union Cycliste Internationale. 5 June 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Kiwi wins World BMX crown". Stuff . 25 July 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "BMX: Walker double world champ". The New Zealand Herald . New Zealand Press Association. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Sarah Walker claims silver at BMX world champs". Stuff . 1 August 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "BMX Cycling - Sarah Walker". The Sports. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "BMX: No medal but plenty of relief for Sarah Walker". The New Zealand Herald . 27 May 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "Injury woes return for BMX rider Sarah Walker". Newshub . 27 September 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  14. ↑ Rattue, Chris (25 February 2016). "15 bone breaks and a new double fracture but Sarah Walker still thinks she'll get to Rio Olympics". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  15. ↑ "Sports Ambassador: Sarah Walker". Beef + Lamb New Zealand. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  16. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: Sarah Walker elected to the IOC athletes' commission". The New Zealand Herald . 22 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: McCartney becomes an Iron Maiden". The New Zealand Herald. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.