# Opdracht 2: Boulder City girl becomes BMX world champion at 9 years old!

Isabella Smith is proof that good things come in small packages. Even though she is just 9, she is a veteran in the sport of BMX racing, which she started when she was 3.

“Our neighbors across the street did BMX and said we should try it out,” Isabella said. “I thought about mountain biking, but I really liked BMX. I really like being outside and meeting new people and riding on the different tracks.” She said.

Isabella got her start at the BMX track at Veterans’ Memorial Park. Her father Alex Smith, a 2007 Boulder City High School grad, was a successful motocross rider.

“She started racing locally at the age of 3. But at the national level, she started at 5.” said her mom. “At 6 is when she really took off. That year, she was ranked No. 6 in the country, and at 7 she was national champion.”

Anabel Smith said she had some mixed feelings when her daughter decided to get into BMX racing. “We tried to get her to do gymnastics and dance, but her passion was bikes,” she said. “All she wanted to do was be on her bike. Injuries can happen in anything you do. She broke her wrist one year. It can be a little scary, but she enjoys it so much.”

The BMX race schedule lasts almost the entire year, which has meant the Smith family is on the road a lot, traveling from one competition to another. This has included California, Tennessee, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, Texas and Florida.

There’s a national race almost every week, Anabel Smith said.

Anabel proudly showed a video of the race along with the excitement of the announcer. The finals consist of one lap around the track. Isabella was in the preferred inside lane (or gate); next to her was the defending world champion, Remy Sessa.

“I was just ready to go,” Isabella said about that final race. “But we started freaking out because it started to rain.”

Once the championship race started, Isabella quickly found herself in seventh place but regained her composure, took the lead and won the world championship.

Even though she’s just 9, the five-time defending state champ and now world champion has her sights set on something even bigger.

“I want to be in the Olympics,” she said. She told us that her idol is Olympic champion Elise Willoughby. “That’s my goal.”