Hannah Mason | Sport

My name is Hannah Mason , I am 16 years old and I am a Competitive BMX rider of New Zealand. My story of getting into BMX is actually really funny . My uncle was the one who got me into the sport in the first place when I was around 7-8 years old . At first I found BMX a really scary sport and was a bit afraid to ride that massive track . I switched to gymnastics to see if I could take this sport anywhere but I wasn’t feeling it , that’s when I thought “Stuff it ” Im doing BMX . That’s honesty where it all started . I have been doing BMX since that exact moment . 2015 was where my love of the sport started competing at my first major event at the BMXNZ North Island Titles at Taupo.

Why I wanted to do BMX was because it was a unique sport that no one really knows about . I remember going to watch the 2013 BMX National Championships in Tauranga. It was crazy , all the jumps , the kids and adults riding at a incredibly fast speed . It just gave you the chills . It was a different sport to watch because I had never seen anything like that before . I wanted to feel that rush of racing in front of crowd of 600-700 people , to feel the adrenaline of racing with some of the fastest girls in New Zealand and I just wanted to feel that accomplishment of doing crazy jumps and manules because why wouldn’t you want to get a rush of doing crazy skills like this! That’s what got me into BMX.

I have had a lot of proud moments in my BMX carriers but so far but I would have to say the moment that made me gobsmacked was being a finalist at my first ever UCI BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (2023). The event was held in SCOTLAND GLASGOW . World champs has always been the dream for me . It’s the biggest achievement to even qualify for the event . But to crack a final , there are no words that can explain the feeling . At this years world champs I made my first ever final and got the ranking of #W8 , I did crash but just the thrill and rush that was going through my body when I was at the gate can not be described in so many words! I WAS EXTREMELY UTTERLY STOKED. My first ever world champs and I cracked the final , It was a dream come true.

Competitiveness , dedication , commitment , willingness to do whatever it takes and focus are values that have diffidently made a huge impact on my BMX/sporting carrier . They have influenced by behaviour for me to become the sports person/BMX rider I am today . BMX is a tough sport mentally and physically and these core values have helped me through some of my toughest moments and they have diffidently helped me achieve the results that I have got . I do believe that the following values will help push me for the future of my sport and help me become the person I WANT TO BE.

I do love extremely love my sports , but I also want to attend university at the end of secondary school. I have a massive interest in plants and I would love to study botany and plant biology at either Otago University or Massey University (Palmerston North). This could possibly lead me into becoming a botanist / plant biologist.