Coquitlam BMX racer Dallen Brereton-Stiles’ journey to some day competing for Canada at the Summer Olympics has begun in earnest.
The 15-year-old student at Heritage Woods Secondary School in Port Moody is one of 30 young athletes from across the country selected to receive funding through the RBC Training Ground program to fuel their Olympic aspirations.
The money is used to help pay for coaching, travel, transportation, equipment, training and nutrition.
To qualify, Bremerton-Stiles had to excel in several rounds of sport-specific testing, as well as measure up physically and competitively, culminating in a national final involving 100 athletes between the ages of 14 and 25 held in Halifax, N.S., on Nov. 2.
“Dallen has an exceptional work ethic and strives to be better at everything he’s doing in training,” said Adam Muys, a national team coach and the BMX race lead for Cycling Canada.
“His advanced bike skills are suited for the Supercross tracks and will help him be successful when moving up to that level.”
Brereton-Stiles, who started racing his BMX bike when he was four years-old, said he’s ready to get started.
“The Olympics is my dream,” he said.
Brereton-Stiles was among 2,500 athletes who participated in the first round of testing last March.
His performance at a Training Ground session held at the Richmond Olympic Oval caught the attention Bobsleigh Canada, which endorsed his advancement to the next round in Calgary.
There, Brereton-Stiles’ results in physical tests measuring his strength, vertical jumping and speed in various sprints were impressive enough to make the final where he faced challenges like deadlifting weights, a 30-metre sprint, a long jump and a wattage test to determine the power he can generate on a bike.
Brereton-Stiles, who finished eighth in his age category at the 2023 UCI world BMX championships in Glasgow, Scotland, said the short sprints that comprise his races suit his physical abilities perfectly.
“I’m more of a power athlete than a cardio athlete,” he said, adding in BMX racing, “you do power sprints rather than endurance.”
Evan MacInnis, the technical director of the RBC Training Ground program, said the 30 athletes who survived the months-long competition all have the raw athleticism they need to impress the 13 national sport organizations looking for their next generation of medal winners; the funding they receive will help them target and hone their abilities as they strive to achieve their Olympic dreams.
Since the Training Ground program began nine years ago, some of its athletes have gone on to compete at three Olympic Games and collectively they’ve won 14 medals — including seven at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
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