She’s being touted as the future star of New Zealand mountain biking.
But Sammie Maxwell is not content to wait for the chance to shine on the world stage.
The Taupō rider has not officially been named in the Olympic team, yet – that won’t be until June – but she’s widely expected to bring her personality and skill to the track in Paris.
"A top 10 [in Paris] would be incredible. I'm young, I want to go and use it as an opportunity to push the boundaries of what I expect from myself and how I deal with those pressures.”
The 22-year-old has certainly done that already in her short career.
An under-23 cross country world championship last year has raised expectations.
"She's got huge potential,” coach Sam Thompson said.
“She's good enough to go all the way to gold at the Olympics, I think that's definitely something that's achievable. Whether that's this Olympics or the next in 2028."
Maxwell’s exploits have included some memorable celebrations at the finish line.
But behind the smiles and moments on the podium, it’s been a tough road to get to a place where she feels confident in herself.
“When I was younger I had an eating disorder,” she said.
“I think a lot of it's based around a really old cycling culture of power-to-weight, and the sport's built off suffering right?
“So you think you've got to suffer all the time if you want to be the best in the sport. I've kind of - over the last few years - learnt that I am my best truly when I'm surrounded by people that are reminding me that it's not the suffering off the bike. You've got to suffer on the bike.”
Maxwell is remarkably candid about her off-bike battles.
She credits her parents and sports psychologists as being key parts of her support network.
“I've learned to be really kind to my body. Even now, I'm still working through some eating disorder challenges, I've taken the first half of this season off. I'm in a really supportive environment at the moment, I'm already seeing some big changes to my sustainability in my career.”
“Sounds cliché, but there's no point getting to the start line if you're broken.”
Thompson, who had worked with her for six years, said he was not surprised by Maxwell’s rise.
"She's been progressing for a number of years.
“She burst onto the international scene quite rapidly, but there was a lot of work going in before that that I guess not a lot of people see."
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