Student to compete in BMX world event alongside his NAN

While he hasn’t yet completed his third year of primary school, an eight-year-old Lake Coogee resident is gearing up to represent Australia on the world stage.

Harrison Cullen will head off next week to the 2023 BMX World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, which are held in August.

It’s no new feat for the Newton Primary School student, who has been competing in State championships since he was six and riding since he was just four-and-a-half years old.

This year he has already competed in the National Round series which culminated at the MacArthur BMX Club in NSW, finishing sixth out of 32 riders in the third round.

Harrison said he found his calling to the sport after advice from his grandma.

“Nanna said that I should do BMX because I had too much energy,” he said.

It’s a passion that runs in the Cullen family, with Harrison’s dad, grandmother, mum and siblings all keen cyclists.

His 73-year-old grandmother Mary Cullen will also compete at the Scotland world championships.

For young riders looking to get involved, Harrison told them to “keep trying their hardest” and to “have fun.”

The young rider represents the Cockburn BMX Club, which has been vying for an upgraded and functional track since 2020.

This means Harrison has to travel to BMX clubs across Perth from his Lake Coogee home for a training session.

Club president Kirk Taylor said the group were exceptionally proud of Harrison competing at a national level.

“It’s a great achievement,” he said.

“The more people that make it to that international level just shows there’s a platform for it.”

Mr Taylor said the club were eagerly awaiting a final decision from the City of Cockburn about their centre.

“At the moment, we’ve been about three years without a facility,” he said.

“Members are having to travel out of area to access other facilities — my kids are currently travelling to Wanneroo for training.”

PerthNow previously reported the requests for an upgrade from the Cockburn BMX Club, which leases the site from the City of Cockburn.

The club’ desired upgrades for a new multipurpose facility and Union Cyclist Internationale (UCI) BMX track would enable them to host national level events.