WHITESVILLE, Ky. — In a Whitesville backyard, 16-year-old Cullen Sumner has built more than ramps. He’s built a path to the USA BMX Freestyle National Championship in the expert class, the highest amateur division in the sport.

The Daviess County High School junior’s journey from a toddler on a balance bike to a national champion is a story of raw talent, family ingenuity and a vision to take BMX from rural Kentucky to the Olympic stage.

Sumner’s love for two wheels started early at two and a half years old. “I was riding on my training wheels and I was like, ‘I want to take my training wheels off,’ and then I took them off, Just took off, and it was just natural,” he said.

By three, he was racing at Burdette Park in Evansville, Indiana. At eight, he got his first freestyle bike and

See Full Page