Nikita
Ducarroz
United States
·
BMX
Date of birth | 12 August 1996 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Nice, France |
Age | 29 |
Nationality | United States |
Career start | 2016 |
Disciplines | BMX Park |
Nikita Ducarroz was born in Nice, France to a Swiss father and an American mother, growing up fluent in French and English as she spent her school months in Northern California and summers in Geneva. She was a standout on the soccer field, but as her teenage years arrived she found herself pulling back from anything that took her outside the house. Anxiety overwhelmed her.
Then, in 2010, Nikita discovered BMX, the sport that would draw her back into the world.
"It looked fun, so I just started messing around in my driveway," she remembers. Before long she took a significant step by getting involved at an area skatepark. "It was all guys, I didn't meet another girl rider for about three years, but we became a big family," she says. Eventually Nikita moved to work with a coach in San Diego and by 2016, BMX was becoming her career.
A powerhouse in the UCI World Cup, Nikita has claimed a spot on the overall podium three times so far. Among the successes that have meant the most to her are back-to-back podiums at Montpellier in 2017 and 2018, as well as first place and Best Trick at the 2018 Vans US Open.
The 2019 season saw her capture the Swiss National crown, take event wins in the FISE European and BMX RPM series, and score a top-five finish in the UCI Urban World Championships. Then, in 2020 she achieved another major career milestone by winning Estonia's prestigious Simple Session.
That was followed by a bronze medal at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and a silver in the 2021 UCI BMX World Championships in Montpellier, with a gold at the 2021 European Championships in Moscow and another Swiss national title capping a superb year.
With no ego in sight, Nikita admits that she's been "shocked" by many of her podiums, because the women's scene is growing so fast that "now it's anybody's game."
She continues, "I want to win and I'm disappointed when I don't get on the podium, but it's not the one thing I'm thinking about. I focus on staying calm enough to do what I've been working on and making it all come together in the moment it counts."
Having lived a multi-national lifestyle, Nikita knows how to make herself comfortable wherever BMX takes her, but right now, North Carolina feels like home. Since the spring of 2020 she's been living and training with an elite international group of riders and coaches in Holly Springs, home to BMX legend Daniel Dhers and his namesake facility, the Daniel Dhers Action Sports Complex.
In a male-dominated sport, Nikita is an inspiration to younger female riders and she’s excited that her creativity in competition, videos and X Games demos is helping girls to discover BMX. Social media is also an important part of Nikita's life, whether creating content or responding to those who appreciate her openness regarding mental health issues.