Patrick Coo —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Ranged against the grizzled campaigners of world BMX cycling, 19-year-old Patrick Coo now has a good grasp of what it takes to make an Olympic appearance.
“I have learned that the junior league speed is different in the Olympic qualifying level and we need to step up in succeeding races,” said Coo after winding 45th in the field of 62 riders in the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) BMX Supercross World Cup in Bogota, Colombia.
The Asian junior champion likewise didn’t fare well in the last chance races, completely missing out on a spot in the coming Tokyo Olympics in the four-stage race, the last Olympic qualifier for BMX.
“We really gave our all. My first world cup, with a big expectation, I tried to live up to it but it was hard, my best wasn’t good enough,” said Coo, who was accompanied in Bogota by PhilCycling coaches Ednalyn Hualda and Frederick Farr.
Coo, the only Asian in the Colombia meet, had to forego his classification in UCI BMX cycling as an under-23 rider to race in the Olympic qualifier as an elite competitor.
“He’s still young and he’s got a lot of BMX racing ahead of him,” said Philippine Olympic Committee president and PhilCycling head Abraham Tolentino.
Daniel Caluag, the 2014 Asian Games gold medalist and 2012 London Olympian, skipped the qualifier after his job as a nurse in Kentucky kept him away from training during the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis.
Based in California, Coo gained the experience in the Olympic qualifying that inspired him to work harder.
“Every time I compete in the US, I have a Philippine logo in my jersey uniform. I am planning to train harder and compete in more races at home,” said Coo. “I’ll certainly give it (Olympic qualifying) another shot.” INQ