Red Deer's Molly Simpson has returned home from the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris with a heart full of gratitude.
The 21-year-old BMX racer not only finished the event fifth overall but qualified for the women's BMX racing finals where she was the youngest competitor to suit up in the event.
"Representing my country was just incredible. Putting the jersey on it just felt good in representing the maple leaf. It made me feel proud because I was just so excited. I'm happy to be from Canada and happy to be the only Canadian at the BMX event. That was also really special," she said.
"The goal was to medal but I'm overall happy with the experience. It was my first games and getting fifth was exciting. Not only that but the other races as well. I just rode well, I was consistent, and did what I needed to do to get into the final."
Simpson was right in the mix in the finals and finished in 35.833 seconds, which was 1.602 seconds behind gold medallist Saya Sakakbara from Australia.
Manon Veenstra from the Netherlands finished with the silver medal and Switzerland's Zoe Claessens took home the bronze.
Earlier that afternoon, she qualified for the finals after placing seventh overall in the semifinals after three races, which was the second last spot to qualify.
She placed second in the first race in 35.599 seconds followed by a fourth-place finish (35.953) in her second race and fifth (36.349) in the last run of the semis.
On her first day of racing, she qualified for the semifinals after placing fourth overall in the quarterfinals.
"BMX is a crazy sport. I mean Mariana Pajon wasn't in the final and several other girls didn't make it in. The Olympic champion from Tokyo ended up getting last. There are just so many different factors so I'm pretty stoked with fifth," she said.
"I'm also feeling really motivated and want to medal even more in the upcoming games in Los Angeles.
Simpson also made sure to take the time to soak in the experience with her friends and family. In addition to focusing on her races, she explored the Olympic Village, participated in the opening and closing ceremonies, and cheered on her fellow Canadians.
"The goal for me was to fully enjoy and soak up the whole experience. I think I did a really good job of that. I felt that I was fully immersed in the moment and had a smile on my face the whole time," she added.
Simpson received plenty of support from her fellow Canadians who watched her from the stands and cheered her on. She also had the support of her community who sent her messages about how proud Red Deer was of her. She even had her face displayed on a bus bench in the city.
"That was so cool to see. I just got home now so this week I think I'm going to go around to different businesses that had signs up and paint on windows just to stop and say hi," she said.
"Having that support and seeing all the photos was really cool."
Simpson will stay home over the next few weeks to appear in a couple of local competitions before heading to Louisville, Kentucky at the end of the month to take part in her first competition since the Olympics.
She will compete in America for the rest of the year in the U.S. BMX Series before beginning preparation for the 2028 Olympic Summer Games.
"I've had two weeks off now so that's been nice. I'll take this week off too and get a little bit of a break but I'm eager to get back at it."