Worlds run gives Walker belief in Tokyo bid

Sarah Walker’s eighth-placed finish at the world BMX championships has got her thinking seriously about a bid for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Walker, who hasn’t raced since a crash on her return to the Supercross World Cup in May, clocked 36.393s at the Rock Hill course in South Carolina at the weekend. American Alise Post won with 33.235.

“I have to process this first,” Walker said after the final. “The field here was outstanding. There was no one missing. This weekend was very promising and I think if I can nail the first few metres out of the start, then I really think I can be right there in terms of the Olympics.”

The New Zealander contested the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she placed fourth, then won silver four years later in London.

She has been dogged by injury in recent years, with her last world championship final in 2014 and previous to that 2011, when she finished runner-up.

This time around, Walker wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.

“I really honestly did not know if I was going to get out of the moto stage,” she said. “My moto draw had three finalists in it and two others who had made World Cup finals.

“To make this final, I am really proud of myself. I still need to work on my first few pedal strokes out of the gate but my track speed was good.”

Walker qualified fourth in her heat, then clocked 34.897s to finish second behind European champion Laura Smulders (34.223s) in the quarterfinals.

The 29-year-old Kiwi then made the final eight after finishing fourth in her semifinal with 35.772 to Post’s winning 34.226. TENNIS