South Australian rider, Sam Willoughby, became the first BMX rider to win back to back junior elite world titles today at the 2009 UCI BMX World Championships in Adelaide in front of his home crowd.
After winning his first title on debut last year in China and after his main rival, USA rider, Denzel Stein, crashed out in the semifinal, Willoughby looked a certainty for the double crown by winning every race during the day.
"There was still seven other guys in the gate, so I still had to do what I had to do,” Willoughby said after the amazing win.
Willoughby is the first junior champion to win two championships in the history of the sport.
Second place went to Norwegian rider, Andre Fossa Aquiluz. The home crowd went wild as another South Australian rider, Anthony Dean from Adelaide placed third.
Columbian rider, Mariana Pajon, became the UCI BMX World Champion Junior Elite Women’s title holder today after a convincing win.
In what she described as "an important victory for her country," Pajon cleared second placegetter Merie van Benthem (NED) by over a second, with fellow Dutch rider Maartje Hereijgers collecting third.
New Zealand rider, Sarah Walker, became the Elite Women’s world champion after a four month break from riding after making the final at the Beijing Olympic Games. Sarah returned to the sport with a renewed passion and plans for “gold in London.”
French rider, Eva Ailloud, placed second with USA rider, Arielle Martin in third.
Olympic silver medallist, La?titia le Corguill?, was injured after a crash in the practice session yesterday and decided not to race.
Bronze Olympic medallist, Donny Robinson, became the new number one ranked Elite Men’s rider, with countryman and silver Olympic medallist, Mike Day, just 0.896 of a second behind. Third place went to Ramiro Marino from Argentina.
Olympic gold medallist and prerace favourite, Latvian Maris Strombergs, finished fourth.
