WILLOUGHBY Alise

General
HUSBAND AND COACH
Her husband and coach, Australian BMX athlete Sam Willoughby, had won an Olympic silver medal in 2012 and had just returned from the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro when he suffered a spinal injury in training that resulted in paralysis from the chest down, ending his BMX career. Doctors said he may never walk again, but he was determined to do so, and 15 months later he walked down the aisle at their wedding with the assistance of a walking frame and knee braces. He later became her coach. "Once he [Sam] was able to say, 'You know what? I'm willing to be a part of this [BMX] again,' that just gave me this new inspiration and motivation. It just made everything feel right again. Sam and I both had a silver medal at separate Olympics, and now Tokyo [2020] is approaching, the first time we are really, really [working together] as a team, and hopefully two silvers can make a gold." (olympics.com, 10 May 2021; today.com, 22 Jul 2019; espn.com, 19 Jul 2019)

GYMNASTICS BACKGROUND
She was a competitive gymnast who won a state title, and credits her gymnastics background for her success in BMX. "Gymnastics has helped me in every aspect of my athletic career. The power, body awareness, work ethic and scripted focus are all things that apply so well in really every situation. I believe it specifically helped me with power development in BMX - I am an explosive rider and I think that comes from years of gymnastics training and conditioning from a young age. I also think it gave me aerial awareness and honestly helped me learn how to crash - tuck and roll baby!" (usacycling.org, 01 Jan 2018; espn.com, 19 Jul 2019)

MISSING BEIJING
She missed the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as, at age 17, she was too young to be named in the team. Competitors had to be 19 or older. (sctimes.com, 18 Jun 2012)

She became the first female BMX racer from the United States of America to win more than one world title, after claiming gold at the 2017 and 2019 editions of the world championships. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Aug 2019)

Her silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro made her the second female BMX racer from the United States to win an Olympic medal, and the first to win silver, after Jill Kintner's bronze in Beijing in 2008. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Aug 2019)

She was the youngest female to ever hold the American Bicycle Association [ABA] national no. 1 women's pro title at age 15. (teamusa.org, 01 Aug 2019)