(rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

"a dream come true"

Red Deer BMXer Molly Simpson ready to roar on Olympic stage

Jun 30, 2024 | 11:58 AM

Red Deer’s Molly Simpson, who’s on the precipice of competing in the Olympics, first jumped onto the seat of a BMX bike 11 years ago, when she was 10.

On her way to school, the family would always drive past the local BMX track, down by the Red Deer River, where it remains.

“It’s something of a hidden gem,” says the 21-year-old, who finished sixth in the most recent overall World Cup standings, and who’ll be Canada’s lone woman in BMX at the fast-approaching Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

I’d always be like, ‘What is that like?’ and ‘What’s going on down there?’ Then I found out my cousin Mitchell raced and was pretty good as an amateur. So one day, my dad said, ‘Let’s go try it.'”

They bought a young Simpson her first bike that day, “and I was like, ‘Yep, this is something I want to do.”

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Fast forward to 2024, and Simpson is a world champion with aspirations to not just medal in Paris, but qualify for the next three Olympic Games.

“Day and night, I’m constantly thinking about how I can be one per cent better than yesterday, and just chipping away at it — facing adversity and challenges, but always pulling through. It’s been a long journey, but it’s been worth it,” says the Lindsay Thurber, Glendale and St. Patrick’s alum.

BMX isn’t for the faint of heart either; training involves a lot of explosive workouts, including Olympic lifts, squats, power cleans, and of course riding the bike every day. Most of her training currently takes place in Vancouver with the national team.

“That moment when I get out there, I think the atmosphere is going to be something I’ll never experience anywhere else but the Olympics. It will be electric and super loud,” she says of the venue that she’s already ridden in on a recent team training foray to the host city.

“In Red Deer and Alberta, the BMX community is actually pretty big. I’ve felt so much support, including last year, for example, when I sold a bunch of merchandise and made some t-shirts. Seeing little kids with Molly Simpson t-shirts on at the races is just so cool to see.”

Simpson acknowledges her desire to be a role model by being open with kids, signing autographs, and not acting like she’s, “too good,” to do that kind of stuff.

That’s partially why she’ll be competing in the Red Deer Canada Cup event Aug. 24-25, and the Alberta Provincials in St. Albert from Aug. 17-18.

BMX is scheduled for Aug. 1-2 in Paris, but Simpson, as well as her family — mom Debbie, dad Shaun, plus siblings Emily and Wyatt, and her grandparents — will be there to see her compete and for the July 26 opening ceremony.

On what this all means to her, Simpson admits it gets her emotional.

“Just to call myself an Olympian — it’s been a dream since I was a little girl,” she says. “There’ve been many sleepless nights dreaming of being an Olympian … and here we are.”

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