It was an historic run in Tasmania at one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world.
“My goal was to be the first woman to complete a Red Bull Hardline event,” said Gracey Hemstreet.
“I didn’t think it would actually happen, but it ended up happening.”
The 20-year-old is a star on the World Cup circuit, and it all started in Sechelt at the Coast Gravity Park her dad built.
“I’d be working on the jump trail and Gracey would be heading down the blue trail on her little bike,” said her father Darren Hemstreet. “Right from the beginning she sort of pushed herself to succeed.”
Competitions started in her early teens and it wasn’t long before Gracey started making regular appearances on the podium.
Now, riders not much younger are reaching out to her for tips on how to get to the top, which in this case means reaching the bottom at ludicrous speed.
“It’s kind of surreal because I feel like I was them five years ago,” said Hemstreet.
For the past 11 years, the bike park in Sechelt has been a training ground for some of the top riders in the world.
And one hometown hero, who’s always happy to come back.
“It’s a breath of fresh air. It’s really nice being home, especially being gone for six months of the year,” said Hemstreet. “If I didn’t have this, I wouldn’t be where I am today in the mountain bike world.
“I probably wouldn’t even be biking. I wanted to be a professional soccer player at one point, so it’s pretty amazing.”