The coach of Peckham’s Olympic silver medallist BMXer Kye Whyte has said staff and riders at the Burgess Park club “haven’t stopped celebrating” since his unexpected result last month.
And Michael Pusey, also known as CK Flash, said Kye’s second-place finish in Tokyo had meant as many as 40 per cent more kids were coming down to the track just off Albany Road.
“We might have to look at asking for an extra day to accommodate all the new kids that are coming to the taster sessions.
“Kids can see it’s a way out – they look at Kye and see he’s making a living from it. It’s not just kids from Peckham that are looking to Kye, it’s all over. People from other places in the UK and even abroad. You could say he has the whole world on his shoulders.
“It’s not just him that’s a role model but the whole family, his brother was also world number three. The whole family has a history of doing well. It shows that families that can struggle and manage to keep it together, with a little bit of help from people like me and obviously from Southwark Council.”
Michael was a BMX racer in his youth himself before going into DJing, where he has worked with rappers like Dizzee Rascal, Wiley and Lethal Bizzle. He said he was asked to come back and coach BMX in Peckham. Michael was awarded an MBE in 2016 for his services to young people in south London.
He credits the success of his club to its strong sense of discipline and community.
“When I came in, I said ‘If you do exactly what I tell you to do I can take you to the top, I can take you to America, to Europe’. I didn’t over spoil them, I kept them hungry.
“All kids are trouble, from the littlest to the biggest. You’ve got the older ones that just need direction, they can end up in trouble if they’re not given the right structure and guidance.
“Peckham BMX has a constitution of good behaviour – you’re not going to do what you do when you’re at school, or at home. Our formula works. People just know that we have a structure, like you’ve got to be on time – if you’re one minute late, you might be sent home. You train as a group, as a team. Everybody spurs each other on.
“We’re like the film 300, we go like the Spartans. That’s why we get results, we have a structure unlike other clubs. We also encourage healthy diets. We’re a little bit of a cut above the rest.”
Kye, 21, credited his local club with setting him on the path to stardom. He was greeted with rapturous acclaim by friends, family and other members of the local community as he made a triumphant homecoming to Peckham last week.
And he said that much of his success was due to the hours he put in at the £1.2m Burgess Park track, which was paid for in part by Southwark’s 2012 Olympic Legacy Fund. The track was launched in 2013.
Since then Southwark Council has allowed the Peckham BMX Club free use of the track, while continuing to maintain it fully, meaning coaches do not have to worry about utility fees or having to pay to keep the track up.
Although other children and young people who started out at Peckham BMX track have been chosen for the national team previously, Kye is the first Olympian.
Kye said: “I owe a lot of this to the time I spent as a kid at Peckham BMX Track. Training at the track taught me the skills I needed to become a professional BMXer, and I also made some friends for life. I encourage everyone to give it a go – it’s suitable for all abilities and the adrenaline rush is incredible.”
He added in an Instagram post: “I went with targets of getting BMX on the map and getting our first medal I promised a lot of people something special to bring home and I did ENGLISH bmx has never been better”.
The council is also encouraging people of all ages to get involved in BMX activities at the track. There are sessions for novices and people at an intermediate level, women-only events, private hire and birthday parties and school holiday clubs.
Kye won the silver in Tokyo last month despite being ranked twelfth in the world before the Games. He finished an agonising 0.114 seconds behind Dutch rider Niek Kimmann in the final. He finished fifth at the 2019 World Championships before suffering a serious injury.
“The medal is flipping heavy,” he said after the Tokyo final. “My neck’s aching. It nearly slipped out of my hands. It means everything to me.
“It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is pretty hard to get to the Olympics in the first place. To do well and get a medal, it is special.”
He added: “I reckon [his brother, former World Championship bronze medallist] Tre might cry. My dad definitely did cry and my mum cried too. When I get back it will be crazy.
“My parents played a huge part, helping me and my brother go to every race even when times were hard.
“Without the lottery funding I would probably be in the bike shop and training afterward – it would be a big loss.
“Since I was 12 years old, this has been my dream. This is where I’ve been destined to go. Now I’m here, I’m only going to try harder and get faster to win the Olympics.
Others in the area added their well-wishes after the event. Harriet Harman, Labour MP for Camberwell and Peckham, Kye’s constituency, said on Twitter: “Huge congratulations! Whole of UK bursting with pride! Especially Peckham!” Peckham councillor Johnson Situ said:Fantastic news!! Congratulations to @kye969 and everyone at @PeckhamBMXClub.
St Peter’s church in Walworth also rang a special ‘quarter-peal’ of bells in honour of Kye’s achievement.
Kye was not the only British BMX racer to reach the podium in Tokyo. Bethany Shriever from Essex won a gold medal in the women’s racing event, and Kye celebrated her victory by lifting her up in the air in joy.
Email thebmxtrack.london@southwark.gov.uk or call 07976 340 111 to find out more about the BMX track.
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