Girl, 8, determined to win BMX championships

An eight-year-old girl says she is determined to win international BMX racing championships after qualifying for the European and world competitions.

Ella, from Exmouth, in Devon, has participated in the sport since the age of five and has won various titles which included British number two and South West's number one.

Her mum Laura, 35, said she was "so proud" of Ella, who was born premature and weighed 1lb 9oz. She said she hoped her achievements would "inspire" parents of other premature babies.

Ella said she was "a bit nervous" about competing, but added: "I feel I'm going to win."

Ella said she was "shocked and speechless" to qualify for the championships.

"It was just amazing," she said. "My goals are to be world number one and European number one."

She said BMX racing had taken her family abroad, including Belgium and the Netherlands.

"It's really nice to have mum and dad to be travelling with me," Ella added.

Her dad Jon said Ella had been born at 27 weeks and was "critically ill" at about two months old.

"She stayed in hospital for about three months," he said. "We would get calls in the middle of the night to say she needed to be resuscitated."

He said his daughter's achievements were "absolutely amazing" for her age.

He said: "Obviously we are going for world number one but, you never know, because the competition is fierce out there."

Jon said he and Laura were trying to provide Ella with "every opportunity".

"We are trying to gain some sponsorship for 2026 with increasing costs," he said. "We will continue to fund what we can, and do what we can, where we can."

The European championships will take place in Latvia and the world championships will take place in Copenhagen during summer 2025.

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