Glen Ellen’s Nikita Ducarroz aims to win another Olympic medal for Switzerland

Three years ago, 24-year-old Nikita Ducarroz had just claimed a bronze medal in BMX freestyle cycling for Switzerland at the Tokyo Olympics.

That was followed by a silver medal in the 2021 BMX World Championships in Montpellier, France, a gold medal at the 2021 European Championships in Moscow and her second national title in Switzerland.

Now 27, the Glen Ellen-raised Ducarroz has become a staple throughout the sport as she once again heads to the Olympics, this time in a country closer to her heart.

For Ducarroz — born in Nice, France — the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris will be a homecoming of sorts, despite the fact that she moved to the Sonoma Valley when she was just three months old.

Coming in to this year’s Games, Ducarroz is ranked sixth in the world, having finished sixth at both the BMX World Cup in Enoshima, Japan, and the Olympic qualifier series in Budapest. She also finished seventh at the Olympic qualifier series in late May in Shanghai.

Born to a Swiss father and an American mother, Ducarroz is the highest-ranking Swiss athlete at the Games and even earned the country an extra qualification spot for Paris.

“Her progression as an athlete has been phenomenal to watch,” said Nikita’s aunt, Lynn Abaté-Johnson, who will be watching from the stands in Paris when the BMX competition begins Tuesday. “My husband and I will tune in to watch her compete overseas whenever we can, and we are continually blown away by her progress in the sport. She has an amazing coach and has put together pieces of her team that really have an impact on her riding.”

And while her skills on the bike have certainly come a long way as she heads to Paris, so has her well-being.

While living in Glen Ellen as a teenager, Ducarroz was a standout on the soccer pitch — not just because of her talent but also due to her infamous blue hair.

But she also continuously battled social anxiety so severe at times that she couldn’t leave the house.

The sport of BMX cycling proved to be the way out of that anxiety for Ducarroz, who used to have a close-knit group of family members travel with her to competitions to help her with the anxiety.

Which is why Tokyo was such a big test for the budding star: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her family members weren’t able to be there in person: Abaté-Johnson back in San Diego, and Nikita’s mother, Nicole Abaté Ducarroz, watching from Switzerland.

And to say she passed that test with flying colors is an understatement.

This time around, however, both Abaté -Johnson and Abaté Ducarroz, along with a whole crowd of friends and family, will be watching in person as Nikita hopes to earn another medal.

“I’ve never been to an Olympics, and to see Nikita competing, it’ll be one of the coolest things I’ll ever see,” said Abaté Ducarroz, whose fingernails are painted bright red with the Swiss flag in support. “She’s so much more settled mentally, and very mature. She has upped her game on the BMX side, but so have the others.”

With Tokyo the first Olympics to include BMX freestyle, many observers believe the 2024 crop of talent will be twice as competitive, if not more. Both the level and standard have gone up since the sport’s arrival on the Olympic stage.

The Chinese duo of Sun Jiaqi and Deng Yawen — who finished second and third in Shanghai — are forces to be reckoned with, despite being the two youngest riders in the field. So is the American duo of Hannah Roberts and Perris Banegas, two of Ducarroz’s best friends, who went 1-2 in Budapest. Roberts also took silver in Tokyo.

Then there’s also the defending gold medalist, Charlotte Worthington of Great Britain, who has had a down year but will always be a threat. In short, this is an event that is wide open.

Ducarroz ”hasn’t had to reinvent herself, but she’s had to improve,” said Joachim Dovat, who is the BMX freestyle coordinator at Swiss Cycling. “Between Tokyo and Paris, the level in the BMX freestyle girls scene has exploded. It’s way harder, the girls are better and she’s had to follow the trends to keep her good level.”

And while Ducarroz has answered that call so far, it will likely take her best effort to bring back another medal that will be celebrated on Riddle Road in Glen Ellen and beyond.

The BMX freestyle event begins with the qualification round at 4:25 a.m. California time on Tuesday. The final round will be held at 4:10 a.m. the next day.

Qualifying will be streamed at nbcolympics.com, while the finals will be broadcast on the USA Network.

“I’m so proud of her,” Abaté Ducarroz said. “I’m so proud of her ability to stick with something, have the passion to do what she loves and be strong enough to do what she loves. And that’s most important. If she has a smile on her face at the end of it, whether she podiums or not, we’re smiling, too. That’s what makes you the happiest.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kienan O’Doherty at 415-887-8650 or kienan.odoherty@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @kodoherty22.