Canberra’s Leigh Darrell had the Midas touch when it came to winning the big events in BMX racing. He is a fourteen-time Australian champion, and a seven-time World BMX champion.  For twenty years between 1992 and 2011 Leigh dominated local and international racing, earning himself the right to run a National or International #1 plate on his bike twenty-one times! In a career as successful as Darrell’s, every event of his racing career seems like a highlight.  Darrell fondly remembers the screams of joy he shared after winning his first World Title as a ten-year-old in Saskatoon, Canada. Further glory came a year later when he won again in Melbourne, and he then completed the hat-trick of World Titles in France in 1999.

If there is one story that speaks volumes for the support Leigh enjoyed from his parents, it is linked to his 20-inch World Title win in France. His dad had noticed that none of his fellow competitors were jumping the massive first-straight doubles, so Dad encouraged Leigh to give it a go at the end of the final practice session.  With this skill now safely packed away in his toolkit, Leigh kept his secret weapon under wraps until the final, attacking and clearing the jump, and establishing an unbeatable lead to win the race, and the World Title. For the third year in a row, Leigh had beaten the best in the world, including his toughest rival, Latvian superstar, Maris Strombergs! At these same World Titles, Leigh won both 20-inch and cruiser class, the only competitor to achieve the double that year.

Leigh’s successes on the track continued into his teens. Two years later he was a key member of the Australian Team that won the Overall Trophy for best nation at the Worlds in Kentucky, USA, where he collected yet another World Title. In 2003, as a sixteen-year-old rider, Leigh completed an incredible clean sweep, winning both 20-inch and cruiser classes at the Aussie Titles, and the World Titles.  Leigh won all four #1 plates in the space of a year.

After a successful stint as a Junior Elite and Elite rider, where he won a further three national titles, Leigh made the decision to focus on a career away from the BMX track. Leigh’s BMX racing career took him to every corner of the planet, winning numerous world titles and consolidating the reputation of Australia as a genuine heavyweight contender on the international stage. 

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Australian BMX Hall of Fame inductee, Leigh Darrell.