“That Mysterious BMX”

That’s all there is to it. Just give it a try!

An innocent person might think that BMX is some sort of top-secret agent code. But really…! And from here on, the surprises just kept coming.

A young girl stood before me, and the moment I looked at her, I immediately thought of Krisztina Egerszegi. She must have had a build similar to Mónika’s. She’s a 7th-grade pupil from Primary School No. 7.

“I won an international championship in Vienna, at the Stadthalle, in the first age category of BMX,” she announced in the most natural way imaginable.

Come again? I stared at her in amazement.
With what? How?

“Her freestyle routine lasted exactly two minutes — we checked it countless times beforehand, stopwatch in hand,” explained her BMX-mom, known in civilian life as Mrs. József Pecze.

I didn’t need long to find out that she too a BMXer — just like the whole family.

“Last year my brother got a bike like this, and then I tried it. After that, I asked for one as well,” Mónika told me.

This February she began doing the “Kunst”
How many times she fell… no one could possibly count.

“I had to learn how to land after a bad move so that nothing would happen to me,” she explained.

Elbow pads, knee pads, and of course a helmet — all essential.

So how was Vienna? I ask.

“When I saw the others, I thought I wouldn’t get very far. I was outside in the courtyard when my coach came and said, ‘Come on, Móni, you’re next.’ I didn’t even have time to be nervous.”

And that’s how she finished first. Simple as that.
She proudly showed me her jersey with the name of her club printed on it: Szerpentin. Mónika belongs to the Gyöngyös division of the club — along with more than a dozen others.

Yet enthusiasm alone is not enough; competing also costs money.

“We can’t manage without sponsors,” her mother noted. “I just spoke with the president of Gyöngyszöv, and he promised they would help as well. It would be nice if we could get support from elsewhere, too.”

As it turns out, the BMX riders of Gyöngyös already have an international champion among them. They are also supported by Lieutenant István Kiss, who believes it’s important for young people to move about and train in a disciplined manner.

“At the end of August I’ll be competing in West Germany,” Mónika said — and looking at her light, delicate  body, it’s hard to imagine she practices such a tough sport… and succeeds.

—In—