Champion BMX racer Anthony Dean bunkers down in Adelaide waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to ease
A champion BMX rider, who trains with Olympian Sam Willoughby in the US, is home in Adelaide with family waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to ease before pushing strongly for the Tokyo Olympics
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Star BMX athlete Anthony Dean is used to adversity in his sporting life whether it be bouncing back from a broken collarbone, smashed teeth and cheeks and wrecked knees.
Added to that the huge disappointment of missing a medal at the 2016 Olympic Games after crashing in the final after strong results in the earlier rounds has fuelled Dean, 29 (on April 29) to not only make the Tokyo team in 2021 but to medal.
Calling San Diego home for the past eight years, Dean is back in SA (northern suburbs) while the coronavirus pandemic has locked down most parts of the world.
He says it was a spur of the moment decision to come home.
“I figured there was little point staying in the US while the tracks were closed and competitions banned and the Olympics postponed to 2021,’’ Dean said.
“So I decided on a Sunday morning about four weeks ago to come home and then left that night. I was lucky with the timing with people having to go into quarantine and then some international flights back to Australia were banned.
“If the Olympics would have stayed on this year I would have stayed in the US but now it makes more sense to have come home.’’
Dean is not sure of the Olympic selection process while all major competitions have stopped but is trying to keep in reasonable shape with a small home gym provided by Cycling Australia. He also can do modified sprint training on a bike on a quiet street.
He also acknowledged how tough the sport was with serious injury just a jump or tumble not far away.
Serious injuries to champions such as Sam Willoughby and current star Kai Sakakibara, who suffered major head injuries in a race accident in February 2020, have athletes wary, says Dean.
“You are so close to the edge,” Dean said. “Sometimes you are lucky, but it’s a risk we all take.’’
Dean says life in the US was good, working with Sam Willoughby, and mixing and competing with plenty of the world’s top BMX athletes.
“It is where you want to be,” Dean said.
“In the US everywhere you go there are international athletes, you live, breathe and train BMX.
“Sam has been great for me. He continues with his own rehab and is in a good space mentally.
“The last four years I have been focusing on the Olympics.
“But it’s more than just being at another Olympics. I want to win a medal, that is my aim now.’’
Originally published as Champion BMX racer Anthony Dean bunkers down in Adelaide waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to ease