Nikita Ducarroz wants to aim high again.
Image: Keystone
Nikita Ducarroz during training in Geneva.
Image: Keystone
Media work is part and parcel of professional sport.
Image: Keystone
Nikita Ducarroz poses for the photographer.
Image: Keystone
Nikita Ducarroz explains the tricks she is currently working on.
Image: Keystone
Nikita Ducarroz wants to aim high again.
Image: Keystone
Nikita Ducarroz during training in Geneva.
Image: Keystone
Media work is part and parcel of professional sport.
Image: Keystone
Nikita Ducarroz poses for the photographer.
Image: Keystone
Nikita Ducarroz explains the tricks she is currently working on.
Image: Keystone
Three years after her bronze medal at the Olympic premiere of BMX freestyle in Tokyo, Nikita Ducarroz is once again ambitious. But she doesn't forget: "Having fun is crucial."
The 27-year-old from Geneva has continuously improved over the last three years in a sport that is still so young that it is constantly changing. "Time has flown by," she says: "I feel like Tokyo has only just happened." However, the Nice-born daughter of a Swiss father and an American mother has lost no time since her exploit in Japan. Despite increased competition, she won a second World Championship silver medal in 2022. She won her first shortly before Tokyo.
Nikita Ducarroz welcomed the Keystone-SDA news agency to "her" skate park in Geneva's Planpalais district at the end of May. She trains there when she can find the time to visit her parents in Geneva. Her qualification for the Olympic Games was not yet official at the time, but it was still just a formality. "I train fully, primarily with the Olympics in mind. I'm working on a maximum of tricks, I'm constantly trying to learn new routines," says Ducarroz, whose ticket for Paris was confirmed a month later.
"If I repeat the same thing for too long, I get a bit bored," she admits. But it helps when she's looking for something new. "I try to ride with friends because then I also feel like trying new tricks. That's also how you learn. I have to train every day to have everything under control for Paris," explains Ducarroz, who is putting the finishing touches to her preparation in the Netherlands. She currently lives in the USA, but is planning to move to Costa Rica, where the conditions are ideal for BMX.
"It's sometimes difficult to travel so much, partly because of the jet lag. But it's no different in our sport, even before the Olympics, traveling is normal. And there weren't even many competitions in the USA." In general, she doesn't mind traveling. On the contrary: "You have to get around to meet people. That's something that fascinates me. I immediately enjoyed getting around a lot and discovering new countries when I started my sport."
Podium finish will be "very difficult"
A sport that has changed Nikita Ducarroz. She suffered from anxiety as a child and didn't want to leave the house at the age of 14. Discovering new things is now one of the great joys of her life. In terms of sport, the pressure and competition is increasing with the Chinese women getting stronger and the riders getting younger and younger. "The level has really risen in the last four or five years. It's really cool to see this increase," she says with a smile.
"Some of these girls are already better than me," she notes - without envy, but with the motivation to keep improving herself. "That's part of the development of the sport," she says, who, like other pioneers, is still involved. "I'm starting to feel very old," she laughs, "but there are men over 35. I'm not finished. I feel good, I might even be better than I was in Tokyo, so I'm going to keep going for a while."
Ducarroz is of course dreaming of a medal in Paris, where the qualification takes place on July 31 and the final the day after. "But I know it will be very difficult this time." The elite has become extremely broad in BMX.
However, another podium finish at the Olympics wouldn't turn her life upside down: "The medal in Tokyo opened doors for me and some people who weren't interested in my sport now know it. But my life hasn't changed. Even if I feel better mentally today than I did three years ago." The medal has given her credibility in her sport, especially with people from outside BMX. "But apart from that, I still do the same thing: I ride my bike, doing what I love to do."
"The flame is burning"
Thanks to sponsors, Ducarroz can concentrate fully and exclusively on her sport. But she is not getting rich and values each of her bikes, which are worth around 2,000 francs. The French-speaking Swiss cyclist, who always has her favorite equipment and a spare bike with her, often has to play mechanic when one of her bikes has a technical problem, even though her competitors always help each other out. "We're still one big family," she says of the BMX circus.
Ducarroz, who sometimes dries the skate park herself after rain, admits that there are also downsides. She doesn't always feel like training. "It's not possible to be happy all the time." That's another reason why it's important not to lose the fun. "That flame still burns inside me. Sometimes I forget about it. But it's enough to remind myself how much joy the bike brings me to get the fun back."
SDA
