Local BMX phenom raced her way to a pair of medals at two major events.
Teigen Pascual earned the silver medal at the BMX World Championship in Papendal, Netherlands on Aug. 22 in the women’s junior category, which is ages 17 and 18. Just about a week later, Pascual earned the gold medal in the Canadian BMX Championships in Calgary, Alta also in the junior category.Speaking about her performance in Papendal, Pascual said she thought it went well.
“I thought it was pretty good, knowing I got second in 2019 and then second again this year to the same girl,” she said with a laugh. “It was all around a good weekend for me.”After reaching the podium, Pascual said it was exciting to look out toward the crowd.
“I've been watching worlds for so many years and just seeing the podiums every year. It's cool to be up there myself now. So, it was really fun getting up there and seeing the whole crowd. It was a packed stadium, so that was pretty cool.”After the race in Papendal, Pascual then travelled to Calgary, where she said she placed first in the junior category.
“We raced the weekend right after so pretty back-to-back racing. But it was fun though,” she said. “It was really fun just to see all the Canadians again to be back racing in Canada.”Pascual said it felt good to be racing at home in Canada again.
“We haven't raced in Canada in two years, so having a bigger race at home was nice. And then coming out with the win was maybe a little bit better.”Additionally, because of the pandemic, Pascual said it has been a long time since racing some of the other girls. Due to that gap, she said that she got to meet some new competitors that she had previously not raced against and that, overall, the group was much improved from the last time she saw them.
As for what’s next, Pascual said she may be travelling to Kentucky to compete in another race.“Our family is very last minute with planning,” she said, with a laugh. “I might be going down there to race this weekend again and then after that I'll have a good break.”
If she and her family decide to go, then it will take place between Sept. 3 and 5. You can learn more about the race at usabmx.com.
