Years of hard work have paid off for BMX star Cameron Gatt.
The year nine student at Thomastown Carr College has recently returned from the UCI BMX World Championships in Glasgow as a world champion.
Gatt won the cruiser boys 15-16 age group ahead of fellow Australian Declan McGhee.
For Gatt it was something he had been working towards for a number of years.
“I’ve gone to heaps of world championships, seven of something,” he said. “I’d had heaps of opportunities and haven’t been able to get it done. This one I’m so happy about.
“I felt like I was way more prepared for this world than any other one.
“I won the semi and got a good pick for the final, did my best and came out on top.”
Gatt said he had been aiming to make the final and then see what happens from there. He said you can give it your best shot and sometimes you can win and other times you might crash.
While he had put in a lot of hard work to get the world championship, a growth spurt may have also played a role in helping him take the next step.
Gatt has been immersed in the BMX world since a young kid when he first came across the sport.
“I think when I was five we went to parade and saw them parading and I kept begging mum and dad to go down,” he said. “I was then hooked.
“It’s good to be able to see the places. We’re there for about a week after. It’s nice to go up there and race and then have something to look forward to afterwards.”
The Truganina teenager is now having a break off the bike for a while to recharge and come back bigger and better.
“The next big aim is to stay there,” he said. “Then there’s also other things like the grand, which is another race in the USA and the Olympics if I make it. There’s lots of other things.”
“I want to keep doing what I’m doing and step it up.”
Gatt hopes to compete in the 2032 Olympics.
“I hope that I will be in my absolute prime and I am selected to represent my country in the Olympics in front of our home crowd,” he said previously.
That is the ultimate goal of my career – Olympic gold,” he said.
Tara Murray
