From youngest ever to seasoned vet, BMXer Alise Willoughby still going full speed
(NEXSTAR) – Alise Willoughby has had many competitors tell her that she inspired them to compete in BMX. That’s because despite being only 33 years old, she’s been breaking records for almost two decades.
At 15 years old, Willoughby was the youngest competitor to win the USA BMX Professional Series and the first woman ever voted Rookie Pro of the Year by BMXer Magazine, the American Biking Association’s official publication.
Alise has reached the top of the competition despite multiple surgeries, including an LCL, knee and hamstring reconstruction one year prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games and a broken tibia plateau 12 weeks before medaling at the 2014 World Championships.
She spoke about how her husband, Sam Willoughby, plays a vital role in her success.
“One of the biggest things in sport is you have to have that shoulder to lean on somewhere, to be vulnerable,” Alise said. “I’m so fortunate to be able to have that.”
Sam earned a silver medal in BMX in the 2012 London Games before his career tragically ended. He suffered a C6 Spinal Cord Injury with permanent paralysis as a tetraplegic just weeks after the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Sam transitioned to coaching Alise through two World Championship titles and the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“I just want to show up and make the people proud that have put so much into me,” Alise said.
She and her family are the driving force behind Pineview Park BMX in St. Cloud, Minnesota, which helped transform a vandalized city park into one of the top BMX facilities in the country.
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