TULSA, Okla. — The 2024 Olympic Games kicked off Friday in Paris with the opening ceremony.
Tulsa played a big role in training BMX racers for the Games since the U.S.A. BMX headquarters is located there.
About two weeks ago, the Olympians departed Oklahoma for France.
As she was getting settled into her living quarters there, 2 News chatted with 23-year-old Daleny Vaughn.
When asked about any takeaways from her time in Tulsa, she replied, "Yeah, it's super nice. My biggest takeaway is that I love Yokozuna. I don't know if you've had that restaurant or not, but it's really good."
Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Vaughn has raced professionally for about four years but started riding a bike at age three.
"Me and my brother were outside,” she recalled, “and then next thing you know, he's taking my training wheels off, gave me a push, and there I went pedaling, and haven't really stopped since."
Vaughn loves the sport and told us it's all she's wanted to do. She described the moment she secured her spot on Team U.S.A. as "surreal" and one she'll remember forever.
Soon, she'll be pedaling for the whole world to see.
Last month, she and other BMX Olympians trained in Tulsa before a big sendoff to Paris.
"The facility is amazing,” said Vaughn. “They have everything we need to have a productive camp from the gym to a sprint spot, to the track itself. So, yeah, super grateful for that. And it was a really productive camp to kind of finish off the big bit of training before coming over here."
BMX is still fairly new for the Olympic stage. The International Olympic Committee made BMX an Olympic sport in 2003 for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when Vaughn was seven years old.
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While her mind is on her first Olympic Games in Paris, she hopes they will not be her last, saying the 2028 games in Los Angeles are “definitely a goal.”
The 2024 BMX events have not started yet, with the seeding scheduled to happen on Tuesday.
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