A day in the life of Olympian Tory Nyhaug
A medal hopeful in Rio, see how Canada's top BMX racer is preparing for the games
He rides bikes, trains hard AND can drop a few rap lyrics! This is the
‘day in the life’ of Canada’s @Tnyhaug49https://t.co/ZwTo6G66iZ— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) May 23, 2016
Tory Nyhaug will be looking for his fourth consecutive world cup win in Medellin, Colombia on May 25 to 29. The race will be Nyhaug’s final major competition ahead of the Rio Olympics. The 2015 Pan American gold medalist will be headed later this year to his second Olympic games after representing Canada as its lone BMX racer in London 2012 at the age of 20.
Nyhaug was lucky to get to London as just 11 weeks earlier he had ruptured his spleen for the second time causing him to miss the world championships. However he was back on his bike training just weeks after the accident.
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In 2013, the Coquitlam, B.C. resident earned his first world cup podiums finishing second in Machester, England and Chulas Vista, California. Nyhaug’s results continued to improve in 2014 earning a silver medal at the world championships and recording two podium results on the world cup circuit.
His track record indicates that in Rio he will be a medal contender. He spent a week in Brazil scouting out the venue where he will compete in August in preparation for the Olympics. Though there is work still to be done on the venue, Nyhaug was able to ride the course and spend time on the beach with Amercian BMX Olympian Connor Fields.
RELATED: Nyhaug leads a team of 19 Canadians at the 2016 world championships
Track wasn't ready yet, so we had to go to the beach instead. What a bummer ? pic.twitter.com/MNsDTcDUvf
— Connor Fields (@connorfields11) March 17, 2016
In the lead up to the Rio Olympics, Nyhaug is training four to five times a week between two to five hours a day. He says that what he is most proud of are the obstacles he has had to overcome in his career, noting his particularly high pain tolerance. In CBC’s feature his mother speaks to his tenacious and eager attitude that have lead to his success.
