Thai-American athlete Amanda Carr has always been competitive in the realm of BMX cycling. Born in Punta Gorda, Florida, the 28-year-old cyclist took up the sport at the age of five, deciding to compete professionally at the age of 16. After racing for USA Cycling and attempting to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games, she was approached by the Thai national team and decided to race with them. Carr had previously won the gold medal for the Women's BMX race category at the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, as well as having competed in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. She had recently competed and won the qualifier round in June for the Red Bull Pump Track World Championship in Aranyaprathet, where more than 70 riders competed for a spot in the finals. She is now set to compete in the finals on Oct 12 to be held in the US at the Jones Centre in Arkansas, representing Thailand in the hopes of bringing the gold back home and winning the championship title.
Was there a defining moment when you decided that cycling was the sport for you professionally?
That was apparent when I was 15-16 and won the world championships, but that was at an amateur level. Breaking into the professional scene is very different so I didn't really realise that I was probably at the calibre until 2008. It was then when I decided I was gonna return to BMX because I stopped for a little bit. I came back to the sport and went to the World Championships in 2009 and ended up being the second best US woman there. I stopped because in 2008, that would be my senior year in high school and the year was when the Olympic Games were starting, you had to be 19 to go and I was only 18. I decided 'Well what's the point of racing, I'm just gonna be a normal high school kid'.
What is it about BMX that sets it apart from other sports?
From a spectator's standpoint, it's very easy to understand because there's a definitive start and definitive finish line. The spectator can see it from one place. It's pretty clear cut for a person to get to the finish line. From an athlete's viewpoint, I think it's an extreme sport so it's challenging physically but also there's the mental component. There's a lot of fear that's involved because injury is prevalent. I've been really lucky to not have suffered many injuries and that's what keeps me in the sport. There's no age limit, just as long as you are competitive, healthy and have the funds to attend the races. I think that's why I'm one of the older riders on the circuit because I haven't had many injuries.
What keeps you motivated?
The biggest motivating factor is my family in Thailand and the Thai people. Whenever I come back to Thailand, I'll get into a Grab and people would know who I am and say 'Hey why don't you race the Asian games' or 'Hey are you gonna race again?' I was wowed how the Thai people took so much pride and success from the 2014 Asian Games where I got the gold medal. That's nothing like I ever felt before and I didn't really understand it. Now, being more mature, I understand the pride that that brought to the Thai people. More importantly, my family in Udon, they're just rice farmers, seeing how proud my mom was, that's kinda the big factor for me to competing.
What is BMX pumping?
The BMX pump track is a technique of a bunch of cycling events. There's BMX racing, there's mountain bike, there's road, there's cylclocross, there's a bunch of different varieties of cycling. BMX pump track is a foundational technique, which is pumping. That's why cyclists from any disciplines can be competitive in it. So far, what I've seen in the pump track results, a lot of BMX-ers are winning and I think that's just because it's more favourable to what we do on a day-to-day basis. Obviously we are gonna be better at pumping than, say, a park person. Because for a park person, they're used to going slow and nailing big tracks whereas we are used to going fast through the rollers.
Has the sport taken a toll on your personal life?
I take training very seriously, maybe a bit too much. My friends go out Friday and Saturday night, and I wanna hang out with them and stay out late, play games. Though Sundays are my days-off, I couldn't hang out as I had training on Monday. That was hard and decided that I would have to figure out to balance my life better. So far it's going good; I now go out with my friends on Saturday night. We will go chill at a place, have a couple of drinks and have a chat. It's legal to have a glass of wine [laughs] and just relax. Sundays are my days to recover. I'm just strategic of when I choose to let myself enjoy those indulgences.
What advise do you have for someone interested in this sport professionally?
Make sure you love it in the beginning and it has to be fun. Obviously right now, when I do it it's like any other job. Some days you love it and some days you don't. It's just a matter of loving it on more days than you don't. For anyone that wants to become a professional BMX racer, they should go try a BMX track and just have fun.
Would there have been an alternative career for you if cycling never worked out?
I probably would have just finished my college as a student athlete, I was running track-and-field at Florida State U. So I would have finished my four years, majoring in business and being a student athlete and then pursue some type of business endeavour. I enjoy business. I run the BMX track in Florida, it's a non-profit and I've been president for seven years now. I just enjoy having to make something more efficient, make more money, what it means to be a successful company.
Do you have any current projects with the youth in Thailand and/or America?
In terms of BMX-wise in America, I train some kids from time to time. We are working on a coaching programme at the BMX track I run. It's just a matter of finding the time because I have to be at three places at once. I enjoy working with the youth on other aspects, in high school we have varsity and junior varsity in the States, and I'm the varsity soccer coach for the girls so I oversee the entire programme. In Thailand, I'm working with a couple of companies that were hoping to build a BMX track and make it into an academy to give back to the BMX community because I don't want to just come in here and do well for Thai cycling and then leave the BMX Thai community with nothing to build off of. We are hoping to build a BMX track and academy to help develop the next generation of BMX racers.
What else is in store for you in the future?
The big picture goal is the 2020 Olympics. Another big-picture goal is the Asian Games, which is in four years. I'd like to stick around for that and see if I can get a medal for Thailand. There's also the NEC Games, for which I would love to put on the Thai national team jersey. I take lot of pride in wearing it. I understand that my window of athleticism is closing. We aren't gonna be professional athletes forever, our bodies are eventually gonna give up and the next generation is gonna come in and beat us. I just wanna maximise my athletic career as much as I can, wear the national team jersey and represent Thai people across the globe and show people that this small country in Asia can come out here and represent. g
