Red Deer’s Molly Simpson is one step closer to her dream of qualifying for the Olympics.
On Sunday the 21-year-old BMX racer placed sixth in the final Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) BMX Racing World Cup event of the season.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma she finished the Elite Women’s race in a time of 40.977 seconds falling to Australia’s Saya Sakakibara who claimed gold in 38.945.
Simpson competed in all six World Cup events this season and with her recent performance, she placed sixth overall in the World Cup standings.
That position has helped her gain more points needed to qualify for the Olympics. Currently, she’s ranked eighth among elite women in the UCI world rankings with 4,127 points.
To qualify for the Olympic Summer Games in Paris in July, she’ll need to stay within the top 10. USA’s Felicia Stancil and Manon Veenstra from the Netherlands are right behind Simpson with 3,503 and 2,317 points.
Her final shot at gaining more points will be at the 2024 UCI BMX Racing World Championships from May 12-18 in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Following that event, the Canadian Olympic team will release their roster ahead of the Olympics later this summer.