
Two-time Olympian Tory Nyhaug offered his coaching services during a two day training session camp at the Prairie Oasis BMX track in Warman.
Nyhaug was in the community on August 11 and 12 teaching valuable BMX skills to both experienced an inexperienced riders.
The 29-year-old was happy to offer his services and help grow the sport in the community. He is a decorated athlete in the sport, as he represented Canada at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, finishing fifth place at the Rio Games. He also won gold at the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto and silver at the 2014 World Championships.
“As an athlete I learned so much about the sport and racing and it feels like a waste not to give it back to the next generation,” he said.
Nyhaug, who is from Vancouver, turned professional when he was 17-years-old but his career was cut short when he suffered a severe concussion at the 2018 UCI BMX World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. He said it took him about over a year to recover from that injury and in 2019 he officially decided to retire from the sport.
“I decided for my health it would be wiser for myself to retire and then I just went full on in to coaching and I honestly love it,” he said.
When Nyhaug was racing professionally he said he never really thought about what he was going to do after his career was over, but coaching seemed like the natural fit for him.
“It kind of naturally progressed in to coaching and now I just love the new role I have in the sport and in the industry. And I love being able to give back and also keep adding to the sport in my own way,” he said.
Nyhaug has been around the sport since he was four-years-old so he knows what skills to teach, so other BMX riders can be successful.
“I know a lot of what the kids and riders I work with are going through which are the same struggles that I went through,” said Nyhaug. “So to be able to help them after going through it myself is really cool for me.”
According to Diamond BMX Club president Niall Schofield, it was a privilege to have the Olympian come out and just share his knowledge.
“Having the kids being able to work with an Olympian is crucial to for their development in BMX,” he said.
Not only was this the first time that Nyhaug visited Warman, but this was his first time visiting Saskatchewan altogether. His first day in the province was so windy that they had to cut one of the respective training sessions short and finish it the next morning.
“The wind was crazy, blowing dust across (the track), said Schofield. “So Tory just said there was no value (in continuing the training) and it’s actually dangerous to ride in at the time (in the Gusting wind).”
Overall, Nyhaug taught four, three-hour training session over the two days and Schofield noticed the improvement from the Diamond BMX riders.
“Some people that weren’t jumping are jumping (now) and some people that were only doing one manual are doing two or three manuals,” he said.
Nyhaug himself was impressed by the skills of the riders and he was glad to see that there is facility like the Diamond BMX track for youth to practice on.
“It’s smooth and it’s pretty big honestly, especially for Canada. So I think the kids have a good track here to keep learning on,” said Nyhaug.
Schofield was excited to have Nyhaug come to Warman and he wants to continue to have high caliber athletes like Nyhaug come to the community to teach the youth.