Shaneze Reade, 21-years-old, is an incredible BMX rider for the United Kingdom and top contender regardless of racing against men or women. She has won the BMX world title three times, but coaches say she is far from ready for the next Olympics.
Jamie Staff, winner of Olympic gold in 2008, mentored Shaneze going into the Beijing Games, where she unfortunately crashed out in the final of the BMX event. Jamie said in an interview:
“She’s still young, immature and needs to do a lot of growing up. That sounds harsh, maybe, but she really needs to address some issues. In Beijing, I completely saw her failing because of the pressure. She’s great when she’s just being a BMX rider, but when the pressure is on, having been there, I wasn’t surprised she completely screwed it up. She needs to be careful she doesn’t do the same with London. She needs to learn to cope with pressure.”