ON THE TRAIL OF BMX GLORY
Teen ‘needs consistency’ if he is to follow hero Phillips
EMERGING BMX star Gideon Orena says he wants to follow in Great Britain star Liam Phillips’ trails and one day be crowned world champion.
The 15-year-old from Hayes is already a well-established name on the junior circuit with eight British and eight English titles to his name.
He has maintained his form into the current season with some outstanding performances but admits there is still room for improvement.
But he says that he is determined that the hard work will pay off in the end as he looks to iron out the inconsistencies in his game and make it to the top.
“My sporting hero would be Liam Phillips because they always reiterate at British Cycling that Liam wasn’t exactly the most talented but he put all the hard work in and became world champion,” he said.
“Now all the people that they’ve chosen are told that they have the talent, and he’s put in the hard work to reach the top – there’s no reason we cannot do the same.
“This year I managed to win the national series and I managed to finish fifth in the men’s championship, which is Liam’s age group or the elite men.
“Obviously Liam Phillips has been a huge influence on me but my big brother, Jimmy, has always supported me.
“He’s always been the guy I’ve been chasing and he has helped me become the guy I am today. He always sees what no one else sees, like when I have problems on the track.”
Orena is a Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport Athlete, a scheme that offers funding and mentoring to the brightest young sports stars the country has to offer.
“The Academy of Sport is amazing and has helped me this season. The season has been going really well but I have had one or two consistency issues.
“Throughout the season I have either been winning or crashing out like I did in Scotland, where I injured myself. But in Manchester, I ended up getting a perfect score – clean wins and no losses.
“I have been a candidate for the world stage for a few years now but I have always messed up, like this year I injured myself at the event.
“I still tried to race and I managed to get through to the quarter-finals where I got injured again. This year I really want to make it again without getting injured.”
Gideon Orena attended the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport workshop, mentored by ambassadors Lewis Moody and Maggie Alphonsi and SportsAid patrons Danny Crates, Bryan Steel and Kerri-Ann Payne. For more information visit sportsaid.org.uk