This little pocket rocket can ride with the best of them.
Tarneit BMX rider Jazmine Dalli has enjoyed a stellar year of competition, taking out the state championship to qualify for the 2015 BMX National Championships in Brisbane, where she finished sixth in a field of 27.
This was the first year she was old enough to qualify for nationals.
“It was very hard,” she said. “In my semi-final, I didn’t think I was going to get in because I was coming last, but then I finished fourth.
“It was pouring rain.”
The eight-year-old now proudly displays a ‘6A’ plate on her bike to reflect her ranking.
“Everyone dreams of being either ‘1A’, first in Australia, or ‘1W’, first in the world,” mum Amy said.
The grade 3 Bethany Catholic Primary School pupil ditched ballet for BMX almost three years ago after seeing her brother Zachary giving it a go.
She now competes with Geelong Thunder BMX club and trains twice a week under the guidance of coaches James Lautier and father and son team Fraser and Brandon Te Hiko.
Like any BMX rider, Jazmine has had her fair share of falls but has so far avoided broken bones or serious injuries.
Jazmine, who idolises BMX riders Caroline Buchanan, Lauren Reynolds and Mariana Pajon, hopes to one day turn her BMX hobby into a career.
“I want to go all around the world,” she said.
