How 'bmx In A Wheelchair' Became An Online Sensation

Asked to picture nan athletics successful which he is simply a double world champion, Tomas Woods has it down to an elevator pitch: "It's fundamentally BMX successful a wheelchair."

In WCMX - short for wheelchair motocross - athletes execute tricks complete 90 seconds to accrue points. Similar to skateboarding and BMX, you get 3 attempts connected nan parkland to execute your champion run.

For Woods, discovering nan athletics changed his life.

"I saw a video of group doing it successful America and thought it was ace cool, truthful I emailed my section skatepark asking whether this was thing I could try," nan 16-year-old from Preston tells BBC Sport astatine Greystone Action Sports successful Salford, wherever he first tried nan sport, utilized to activity part-time and is now a celebrity.

"I came down successful January 2020, and successful October I was successful my first competition. The remainder is history."

Woods now shares tips and tricks connected Instagram, doing his champion to turn nan athletics beyond its burgeoning online popularity.

Many of Britain's WCMX athletes are celebrated connected Instagram, pinch Woods, Lily Rice and Ben Sleet attracting thousands of followers.

They station pictures of their travels and competitions, and videos of their tricks and skills - each pinch their wheelchairs proudly beforehand and centre.

"The organization is truthful immense - Australia, Brazil, each complete Europe," Woods says. "Having that online is truthful important.

"I was riding present astatine Graystone and had nary hint what I was doing. Me and my coach would watch YouTube clips past effort and tally it back. Now we station tutorials, giving backmost to nan adjacent generation."

When it comes to online fame however, nary of nan British athletes tin touch nan man regarded arsenic nan godfather of WCMX.

The athletics has grown hugely since Aaron 'Wheelz' Fotheringham - followed by 865,000 group connected Instagram - first coined nan word successful 2000.

"I conscionable threw those letters together - for illustration BMX, but pinch a wheelchair," he tells BBC Sport.

"Now I tin log into Instagram and group are throwing successful nan craziest [stunts]. I don't cognize if I imagined this, but it's beautiful cool to spot nan impact."

WCMX is now worldwide and nan World Championships are returning to Europe this period for nan first clip since nan inaugural 2019 arena successful Hamburg. The Swiss metropolis of Bulle is hosting nan arena from 12 to 14 September.

"Swiss WCMX riders are a wholly different breed, truthful bringing it to them is beautiful cool," Fotheringham says. "It's cool to spot it bouncing around.

"There are different attitudes to nan athletics successful different countries - it's cool to spot group pinch different takes."

The mobility WCMX faces now is, what comes next? Is nan answer: Paralympics? And if so, really does that happen?

The closest it has travel to nan Games was erstwhile Fotheringham memorably performed successful nan opening ceremonial of nan Rio 2016 Paralympics, erstwhile he rode down a elephantine ramp and backflipped done a flaming hoop.

World WCMX president Jo Woods says nan athletics was aiming to beryllium included astatine Brisbane 2032, pinch hopes of a trial arena astatine LA 2028.

She says talks are ongoing pinch World Skate - which runs Olympic skateboarding - complete it taking connected responsibility, which would boost its Paralympic chances.

However nan International Paralympic Committee (IPC) told BBC Sport that location are nary plans for trial aliases objection sports astatine nan adjacent summertime Games and that WCMX has missed nan vessel for 2032 arsenic well.

An IPC spokesperson told BBC Sport: "To beryllium eligible for inclusion successful nan Paralympic Games athletics programme, a athletics must beryllium governed by an International Federation that is either an IPC personnel organisation aliases an IPC Recognised Federation.

"WCMX is neither an IPC personnel International Federation aliases an IPC Recognised Federation and truthful is presently not eligible to use for inclusion successful nan Brisbane 2032 Paralympic Games."

The IPC states immoderate athletics seeking information must person a minimum of 32 countries from 3 regions to beryllium regularly practising nan sport.

It must besides person a recognised governing assemblage tin of moving competitions and Paralympic qualifying events and beryllium successful compliance pinch nan world anti-doping code, and person a general constitution and regulations.

In countries for illustration Germany, Switzerland and nan United States, location are organised and progressive bodies. Others, including nan United Kingdom, are useful successful progress.

There besides needs to beryllium a codified rulebook for charismatic competitions. Jo Woods said she contacted each state pinch a WCMX governing assemblage and asked for their rules earlier she, successful her words, "mashed them each together".

Meanwhile double women's world champion Lorraine Truong has produced nan first classification schedule, sorting which competitions athletes pinch varying disabilities should participate - a thorny rumor successful Paralympic sport.

Tomas Woods, who is aiming to complete a hat-trick of world titles successful Switzerland, said nan athletics is "not wherever we want it to be, but location are boots connected nan ground".

Closer to home, entree to nan athletics successful nan UK remains an issue.

Some skateparks, for illustration Graystone, person WCMX chairs for prosecute connected nights dedicated to nan sport, but this is not universal.

A master WCMX chair tin costs up to £16,000, pinch Tomas Woods' first chair financed by his parents trading a car. He is now sponsored, but knows others are not truthful lucky.

"You can't spell to Halfords and bargain a inexpensive wheelchair," he says. "Most skateparks will person a rental fleet of skateboards and BMX bikes - to person that for WCMX would beryllium massive."

But nan dream of WCMX connected nan biggest shape remains alive.

"Yeah for sure," says Fotheringham erstwhile asked if his creation should beryllium successful nan Paralympics. "I've heard small things present and there, truthful this is maine personally asking [the IPC].

"It draws a crowd, it is cleanable for TikTok, nan liking is there. To spot it location would beryllium unreal. It's conscionable 1 of nan sickest sports retired there."