With the weight of the world lifted from his rehabilitated shoulders and a rediscovered love of the sport, Flynn Sweeney has wrapped up his comeback season with a gritty silver at the Australian National Championships in Perth.
The Bond University ADCO Sports Excellence scholar crashed out in the first heat but bounced back in his final two races to qualify fastest for the BMX Supercross final.
Although happy with his second placing in the decider, and despite being the youngest competitor in the Under 23 age group, Sweeney wasn’t totally satisfied with the result.
“Second place for my first national title in two years is alright,” he said.
“I still don’t like coming second though!”
Competing fully fit after back-to-back shoulder injuries, Sweeney’s return to the track hasn’t been easy.
“It is a lot to spend six months off, come back and get injured again the next year,” he says.
“You have a lot of doubts.”
Sweeney spent the first six months of this season getting his body right.
“I wanted it to be in the strongest position it could be,” he says.
“I built up the foundations of core and hamstrings and then moved onto quads for the back end of the year.”
A big part of his return was reminding himself why he loves riding in the first place.
“I wanted to get back to enjoying the sport as opposed to just thinking about the results,” he says.
“I got a new coach, and his training philosophy was a little bit different, so it kept it fresh for me.”
In September Sweeney travelled to the USA to compete in events in Oklahoma and Kentucky.
The overseas experience helped him enormously.
“Going over there was a big confidence booster,” he says.
“Knowing I could compete with these guys given the level they are at gives me a strong foundation for next year.”
Although he was hoping to compete at this year’s World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina, his focus will now switch to next year’s World Championships to give himself more time to build his post-injury fitness.
“You change your goals, and in the long term I am going to be better off,” he said.
“And that is the biggest goal for me, to make the World’s team.”
Sweeney will spend the remainder of 2024 in the gym and on the track, to maintain his strong form going into next season.
“Everyone is fighting for that extra half second to get ahead of the competition,” he says.
“If you're not motivated or switched on, or disciplined to doing all the work, then nothing else is going to fall into place.”