Steph Alexander: Rowville BMX rider finishes third at world championships in France

A Rowville teen has zoomed onto the podium at the world BMX championships, and her family and local club believe it’s just the beginning of a huge career.

Stephanie Alexander, 13, left, celebrates finishing third in the U13's category at the BMX Racing World Championships in France on July 27, 2022. Picture: Knox BMX Club Facebook page.

A Rowville teenager has broken through for her biggest result on the global stage, landing a podium finish at the BMX Racing World Championships in France.

Stephanie Alexander, 13, finished third in the under-13s category in Nantes on Wednesday, behind Columbia’s three-time world champion Guadalupe Palacios and the Netherlands’ Lieke Van Der Aa.

Stephanie, a Year 7 student at Glen Iris’ Sacré Coeur girls school, progressed through seven heats before reaching the final of eight riders.

Spurred on by her father Todd, she improved on her previous best performance of sixth at the last world championships in 2019.

Mum Elizabeth said she was overwhelmed by her daughter’s success after months of rigorous training under coach Dean Patch.

“We’re over the moon, she was training so hard for this, and we knew what she was capable of so it’s great she put it all together,” Ms Alexander said.

“She was in a really good headspace for the race and took it all in her stride, she wasn’t stressed or overwhelmed, she really embraced the whole atmosphere.”

Stephanie’s podium finish follows on from her victory at the Oceania titles earlier this year, and she is also leading the national racing competition for her age group for 2022.

She is a loyal member of the Knox BMX club and has been riding and training with the club since she started at age five.

Club president Troy Tormay said Stephanie was an obvious talent and the club was exceptionally proud of her achievements.

“For her age, the dedication and training is unbelievable, she would be at our track close to four-to-five times a week,” he said.

“Her work ethic is amazing … everyone knows within our sport knows where she’s going to go, and if she keeps training and stays on target, we know she’ll get there.”

Stephanie and her father will jet back into Australia from France this weekend.