INNISFAIL – If you fail once you try again.
That’s what 18-year-old Innisfailian Carson Kowaski did on his BMX bike.
And today he’s Canada’s junior BMX champion.
Kowaski bested 27 other junior level competitors at the 2023 Canadian BMX Championship tourney on July 1 and 2 in Drummondville, Quebec.
“I was really happy when I got it done,” said Kowaski last week after he returned home from Drummondville.
Kowaski noted he’s been at the junior elite level for the past two years, which gave him two attempts to claim a national title.
Last year he finished second, and claiming the national title this year was a huge priority.
“I was happy with second but I knew I wanted first, obviously,” said Kowaski. “I came into this year trying to make sure I was fully confident in myself.”
That confidence was needed and seized when he had to fight hard to get to the final race.
Kowaski noted a big challenge came in the lap before the main to make it to the final.
“I had a really, really, really close call,” he said. “I was in first place. I went over the second pro jump; the second gap jump and I my foot fully came off the pedal. My bike went sideways.
“I foot-planted and saved it, and then just slipped in enough to qualify for the main.”
The final race, which had eight riders including Kowaski, was on a challenging technical course but one the Innisfailian liked.
“It looked really long but it was all downhill,” he said, noting the typical lap time is about 30 to 32 seconds, and that he had to do a total of five races, including the main, on championship day. “The track was just really well built. The first straight was really long; second straight was super downhill, third straight downhill, and the last straight was small jumps, but also downhill.
“It was definitely competitive. You had to have a really strong first straight to try and get ahead.”
He said the last race for the championship was a nail-biter against a skilled Ontario rider.
“He actually caught up pretty well. At the very last end of the track, I had a little bit of bobbles. I think I was only probably a bike length away from him; probably two metres,” said Kowaski.
As far as competing in future national championships he is now finished being a junior. Kowaski will now compete in the under 23 level for riders between the ages of 19 and 23. Beyond that is the elite level.
However, he’s now preparing for this summer’s 2023 world championships at Glasgow in the United Kingdom; an event he went to last year.
“That was a big learning curve. I trained really hard for that one but I felt I just got scared. I didn't do good in the world championships,” he admitted of his performance last year. “My goal this year is to get top 16 in the world. I want to feel strong enough that I'm top 16 in junior category to go into the U 23 next year with a bit of confidence.”
And after that Kowaski’s big goal is to compete for Canada at the 2028 Olympics.
But for now he already in training for Glasgow’s world championship.
Last week Kowaski attended a world prep camp in Red Deer where the national coach came to help with training. He will then likely continue training for the worlds in Calgary and Abbotsford, B.C.
In the meantime, when Kowaski is not racing he’s working at the Central Alberta Co-op in Innisfail to pay for his expenses as he’s not yet a carded athlete eligible for government funding.
“This year if I want to get carded I have to get a top three at the worlds in junior elite, or I have to get a top 16 in the U23 category at a world cup,” said Kowaski, adding his parents have helped him financially.
For the world championship this month a family friend stepped up to help him get to Glasgow.
“He offered because he saw me win (last) weekend and he said, ‘yes, I will help you for the flight,” said the grateful Innisfail teen who just earned his high school graduation diploma. “He offered to help pay for the flight because he said, ‘you’re a junior champ representing Canada and you have to be sent.”
