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i will never forget the year 1979.1 was just ten years old when my father decided to take me to see a stunt show starring the legendary motorcyclist, evel knievel. after seeing the amazing stunts, i started dreaming about riding bikes and performing stunts myself one day. my entire childhood was spent at skate parks; there was a gang of us that would go there every day after school with our brand new bmx bikes. after all, i would need to get some practice if i was going to be like my hero! mostly we just copied the skateboarders, but did the tricks on our bikes instead, pretending we were riding motorcycles. anyone could invent a new trick. 9 …. we were in control of the sport, so it was a direct reflection of who we were. my later teenage years were spent competing in endless bmx freestyling championships; some i won and others i lost. 10 …. the atmosphere was magical, with over 1,000 riders at some events. i just loved the rush of energy i got from this, and from continuously trying newer, more daring stunts. by the late 1980s, sponsorship money for the sport had begun to dry up and we freestyle bmx-ers had to go it alone. 11 …. sometimes, i would leave with a few hundred pounds in my pocket; most often i left empty-handed but with a story to tell and a concussion! in 1995, was chosen to compete in an international action sports competition called the x-games. 12 …. i was attempting a back flip with a 360-degree twist, when i landed badly on my hand and pulled several tendons. it took me out of the sport for a while, but my attitude was: 'if others have suffered more and gone on, then why can't i? ' i had once read that evel knievel suffered a total of thirty-five broken bones during his career! the current popularity of extreme sports has meant that bmx has seen a recent revival. 13 …. there is now also a growing number of women participating in competitions at a professional level. a few years ago, the international olympic committee made bmx an olympic sport, couldn't have been more delighted! 14…. it entry into the olympics is guaranteed to further raise its profile and encourage more people to take it up seriously. i have heard some people say that bmx is too dangerous for kids. 15 …. with riders pushing the limits far beyond what i could ever have imagined when i first started riding professionally, bmx seems set to remain one of the most risky and exciting sports in history. a/ but it was never the trophies that mattered. b/ old tracks are being renovated and new ones are being built. c/ the way i see it, the sport finally got the recognition it deserved. d/ the risks, though, are really no greater than, say rollerblading or skateboarding. e/ well, they just might have a point. f/ for once in my life i was nervous. g/ there were no real rules, but that's what was so great about it. h/ we organised our own events and fed off each other's tricks.

7lavz    1   18.10.2019 21:02    70