Imagine, if you will, that while growing up in regional NSW you committed yourself to what must have seemed like the sporting equivalent of summiting Mount Everest.
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Now imagine that after years of teeth-clenched determination, you are ideally placed to turn that noble pursuit into reality.
That scenario encapsulates the BMX trajectory of Jack Davis, who has returned home to Tamworth to prepare for the next evolution of his career - a seminal phase that he hopes will lead all the way to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Next year, the 20-year-old will leave the under-23 ranks and compete in the elite class.
"Gotta step up into elites and try and earn my spot on the Olympic team," the sporting globetrotter said. "That's been the goal for as long as I can remember. So [I'll] try and make that happen."
The pending move into the sport's premier category follows Davis recently basing himself in Florida, which he said was "a bit of a BMX hub".
"So, there's a good crew out there to train with," he said. "And I've really enjoyed getting amongst it. Training with those boys every day, it's only gonna make you a better rider."
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In June, Davis's mother, Katrina, and his younger sister, Alyssa, travelled to Florida to help him move into his new home at Largo, a city located in the Tampa Bay area. He shares the apartment with Izaac Kennedy, whom Davis said was Australia's No 1 racer.
"So, to have a roommate of that talent and high ranking is definitely gonna be beneficial for me," he said.
Davis said basing himself in the US was "the best move" of his career. "So, looking forward to getting back there and getting back into the groove."
"I've got every opportunity I could want to get to the Olympics," he also said. "I need to get myself overseas and do well on the world stage." That means competing in World Cup races, chiefly in Europe.
Davis will return to the States on November 8, and will try to finish the year in style at the most prestigious event of the USA BMX Pro Series - the Grand Nationals at Tulsa, Oklahoma.
At the series' most recent event - held this month at Davis's home track at Oldsmar, Florida - he made his first final of the series, but blew his chain on the first straight in the final.
"That was probably the biggest confidence boost I've had for the year," he said of the Oldsmar event. "I needed that big time to pick myself up.
"The field of riders at that race was pretty top notch. So to get in the final was awesome."
Davis was left bitterly disappointed after missing the under-23 final by one place at the World Championships at Nantes, France in July. Still, he finished in ninth place overall.
He also competed in four under-23 rounds of the World Cup Series, making two semi-finals, while he won the under-23 Oceania championship at Brisbane in April.
Next year, he plans to contest more USA BMX Pro Series events.
"There were definitely a couple of missed opportunities, for sure," he said of 2022. "But still lots of positives."
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Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
