CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — For some riders at Cedar BMX Track in Clarks Summit, it's a thrill-seeking experience; for others, it's the beginning of a long and bumpy road to the Olympics.
"Yeah, I wanna go to the Olympics, and I also wanna do, like, I'm doing gold cup finals too, so it's pretty competitive," said Mason Brown of Wilkes-Barre.
Although there are a number of national BMX races across the country, BMX races only became an Olympic event in 2008.
"In the USA BMX, there is pro races, but the Olympics is kind of bigger than that, so the kids will be excited about trying and thinking that someday they're going to try to do that," said Candy Rosencrance, Track Operator at Cedar BMX.
Some of the kids at the Cedar BMX track intend on making it to the international stage.
"I think that it'd be cool to be in the Olympics and ride for more people and to help BMX out," said Colten LaRue of Clarks Summit.
"I'll have to, like, train really hard and do good and be motivated," added Brown.
Their parents say they're going to be right by their side.
"I mean, he's an expert rider, so he knows what he needs to do out there, and I just pretty much foot the bill and come along for the ride to support him as much as I could in the stands," said Jason Brown of Wilkes-Barre.
Tomorrow is the semi-finals and finals of the BMX racing event at the 2024 Olympics. Where we'll see who will take home the gold.