In recent weeks, 13-year-old Coteau-du-Lac resident Justin Lafleur visited Rock Hill, South Carolina, not for tourism, but to take part in the 2024 BMX World Championships, which brought together the world's best BMX athletes. 

In his category, Justin started alongside 114 athletes from all over the world. He finished 74th, a somewhat disappointing position given that during practice he had clocked the 25th best time in his category. “The rain came to play spoilsport. It rained a lot during my race. It was fine the day before, but the next day it was lightning and most of the races were cancelled. The site was evacuated and athletes were unable to take part in the finals. My race went ahead, because it wasn't thundering and it wasn't lighting either. I had to run and missed my start because of the slippery track. I was delayed and I'm probably not the only one. I'm sure I would have performed better without the rain, but that's part of the game,” says the man who will be graduating from Secondary 1 in a few weeks' time.

As well as performing well in this race, Justin was also able to support his Vaudreuil-Soulanges teammates who were also taking part in their respective categories. “A Quebecer even reached the semi-final, and an Ontarian set the best third time of his race.He was taking part in the race that had to be cancelled due to bad weather.The organizers therefore kept his best time.”  

Still proud of his performance 

Still, Justin is pleased with his performance and the experience on the crushed sand track. “The drive to South Carolina went well and we had a rest day between practice and the race. I also got to do a bit of sightseeing down there. We went to see an amusement park with a roller coaster. It was cool,” he says. 

On his return home, Justin also got a nice surprise: he won the Pioneer of the Year award at his high school. “I won it because I do CrossFit at school. I started it for fun because I'm too young to train in a gym. The prize was a trophy. I'm very happy.” 

Otherwise over the past weekend, Justin took part in the BMX Quebec Cup held at Pointe-du-Lac in the Trois-Rivières area of the Mauricie region. He finished 2nd in the open category behind a 30-year-old former Canadian champion. In junior devo, he unfortunately fell in the semi-final. 

“I didn't break anything, but I have a few bruises,” he confirms to Neomedia a few days after his fall. He finished 1st in the B final, finishing 9th in his category out of 24 participants. 

On June 15 and 16, he'll be in Bromont for his next podium finish.