Sarah Oliver
At just eight years old, Sienna Richmond had no idea BMX racing existed until her friends introduced it to her.
Now, at 14, she has competed in and won multiple state titles and in 2017 came second at the national Australian championships.
Sienna got the chance to defend her Victorian state title at the weekend in Shepparton, where she represented Bacchus Marsh and finished first against her fellow competitors.
“It was very overwhelming at the start of the day – it was very stressful because anything could’ve happened so you had to trust it,” she said.
But Sienna said it was “pretty exciting” and that racing against her mates made the race normal for her.
“It was pretty normal because every time I’ve done a race, I’m always against friends.”
Sienna said leading up to state championships, she trains almost every day but that balancing it with school is easy. She also isn’t sure yet if she wants to pursue BMX racing as a career.
“I definitely want to keep doing it and will soon 100 per cent know if I do want to do it as career path.”
BMX racing has been a sport heavily dominated by boys and men since it began in America in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which didn’t take long to reach Australia’s shores in the same period.
A 2019 report from BMX Australia found just 23 per cent of its 16,228 members were female, compared to 77 per cent of members being male.
Sienna said if any young or teenage girls are thinking about BMX they should just do it.
“Do it if you love it – just keep on training and try your best and just have fun.”
The new track at Bacchus Marsh has been a positive welcome to BMX riders in the area, with a longer track that Sienna said is really good.
“It’s definitely good because the track I came from before that was really short and wasn’t the best to train on if I wanted to do a lot of fitness and stamina work…this track helps me follow that.”
Sienna’s dad, Bryan, said the club is keen to grow its numbers.
“They’ve given the kids a place to ride with the new track and facilities there.
“They’re only 30 members, so they’re hoping to get more members and grow the club.”
Sienna is keeping herself busy, with Track Attack coming up in January – a 6 round series of BMX races held annually at the Victorian Eastern Region clubs.
She’ll also be competing in the 2022 National Series, with the first round in South Australia in January.
Sienna said she’s “feeling pretty good” about both competitions.
