Failure at London 2012 inspiring BMX world champion to grab Olympic gold at Rio 2016
Venezuela’s Stefany Hernández talks about her pyschological transformation during visit to Rio to test Olympic track
Cheering in the rain: Hernández celebrates becoming world champion last year (Getty Images/Dean Mouhtaropoulos)
Text: Alejandro Lifschitz
After failing to qualify for the final at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Stefany Hernández decided to take some time out from BMX cycling. The 21-year-old Venezuelan wanted to think about her future. Competing in the British capital had not been easy, with little in the way of a support structure behind her. But six months later, she had set a new target: to win gold at Rio 2016.
“I realised that the only person between me and an Olympic gold medal was me myself”
Stefany Hernández
“Competing in London was an adventure for me, a challenge,” she told rio2016.com. “I had achieved a dream: to become an Olympian. But after that there was a big change in how I thought. I told my coach: ‘I want to be Olympic champion in Rio.’”
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Being knocked out in the semi-finals at London 2012 was a turning point for Hernández (Photo: Getty Images/Phil Walter)
The first step was to end her sabbatical and return to the UCI World Cycling Centre, a state-of-the-art complex in Aigle, Switzerland. “I had my own little room there and I cycled from my lodgings to the track every day. My life was simple: train, eat, sleep.”
It worked. After reaching the final of the 2013 world championships in Auckland, New Zealand, Hernández finally topped the podium last year. In the Belgian town of Heusden-Zolder, Hernández became world champion in dramatic fashion, her daring move on a wet track taking her past the USA’s Alise Post and Australia’s Caroline Buchanan into an unassailable lead for gold (check out video below).
Hernández’s transformation seems to have been as much psychological as physical. “When we understand all the strength that is inside us, when we start to give our maximum in training every day, then we have everything we need to win. I am always searching for the best version of me.”
“First you must win in your mind, then you feel the energy in your blood”
Track testing
Hernández, currently ranked no.2 in the world, was in Rio last week (14-18 March) as part of a special World Cycling Union (UCI) delegation sent to test the Olympic track after the adjustments requested by riders at last year’s test event. As well as enjoying a pre-Games visit to the Olympic host city (see photo below), Hernández found positive news at the course. “The renovations are very good,” she said. “You could see that everybody has been working very hard to make it right.”
“I am certain that the Olympic course will be great in August”
The main threat to Hernández’s ambitions is Colombia’s world no.1 and reigning Olympic champion Mariana Pajón. It is, however, a friendly rivalry between the two South Americans. “We are the same age (24) and we have always competed together,” Hernández said. “We have a private competition – we are rivals to the death on the track, but off the track there is a great atmosphere between us. Being an athlete is like being in a big family, we grow up together.”
