Charlotte's Profile

Charlotte Worthington was working as a chef in her native Manchester when the Olympics added BMX freestyle park to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, a decision that altered her life. Selected to represent her country, Worthington clinched became the first ever women’s BMC freestyle park Olympic champion, and this summer she travels to Paris to defend her title.

The announcement, in 2017, that BMX  freestyle  was to be added to the Olympic schedule, presented Worthington with an opportunity to become a member of the fledgling Great Britain Cycling Team programme.

Worthington only discovered the sport in her late teens, having previously learned to perform tricks on a scooter, and was nearly 20 before she began to ride BMX seriously. But having swapped working in a Mexican restaurant for life as a professional rider, she enjoyed an incredibly successful debut year on the international stage.

In 2019 she won gold in the inaugural UEC BMX Freestyle Park European Championships, and became the first British woman ever to medal at the world level in Chengdu, China, claiming bronze in the UCI World Championships. Worthington also won the inaugural British National Championships in her discipline that year.

That form established Worthington as a medal hope for Tokyo as Great Britain’s representative in the new event. It was a hope that paid off, when Worthington produced a stunning second run, becoming the first woman to land a 360-degree backflip in competition. Landing the trick not only sealed the gold, as Worthington racked up an impressive score of 97.50, it showed incredible fortitude, as that same trick caused her to crash during her first run.

Worthington continued to make history the following year, at the 2021 UCI Urban World Championships in Montpellier, France.

There, Worthington not only captured a bronze medal in her freestyle park event but also became the first woman to ever land a front flip in competition. 

In 2022, the year began with Worthington being named on the New Year’s Honours list – she received an MBE for services to BMX riding. That year, she finished a creditable fifth at the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Abu Dhabi.

At the start of 2023, Worthington talked openly about her stuggles with the pressures that came with being Olympic champion and took some time out from major competitions. She returned to the world stage at the world championships in Glasgow, where she finished 7th. 

She was able to secure back-to-back national titles in 2022 and 2023 however, most recently finishing fourth at the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in Enoshima, Japan and has recently been selection for her second Olympic Games, most recently finishing fourth at the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in Enoshima, Japan.

Though the pressure will be on Worthington to retain the title she won in Tokyo, she has proven she has the resilience and talent to perform on the big stage, and following a period of refocusing in which she opted out of a number of top competitions, she is ready to take on the challenge of another Olympic Games. 

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