Huck Kurinsky, a student at Westerly Elementary School in Bay Village, recently made history as the youngest rider to compete at the Monster Energy BMX Triple Dirt Challenge.
“Huck started riding during COVID and at that time, my mother-in-law moved in with us because she was diagnosed with Glioblastoma brain cancer,” Huck’s father, Keir Kurinsky, said. “To escape the reality of life, we would ride our bikes at Ray’s Indoor Bike Park, and Huck fell in love with it.”
Keir said he and the family have no previous background in BMX.
“We have no background in action sports, I would have never thought of putting him on a bike,” Keir said. “We’re forever grateful that we found BMX and let him show his talent and get his energy out.”
Huck signed his first contract as a Global Youth Ambassador for Huffy Bicycles when he was 8 years old and is coached by Nick Bruce, a BMX Freestyle Olympian.
Bruce competed at the BMX Triple Challenge Feb. 22 alongside Huck at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The BMX Triple Challenge showcases freestyle riders from around the world, featuring different courses like a dirt jump course.
“I got 25th out of 26th, all against 30-year-olds,” Huck said.
He is set to compete in Canada, Europe and Asia later this year. Huck will also compete in FISE Olympic-sanctioned events.
“Olympic hopefuls will show up and vie for points to make their country’s team, so Huck will compete in the juniors section,” Keir said.
Apart from training for the Olympics, Huck is an advocate for the American Association of Pediatrics’ “Put a Lid on It’ program.
“They give us 1,000 to 2,000 helmets, and at the start of the school year, we give them to people we see without helmets,” he said. “We also donated them to Ray’s, the indoor bike park I ride at.”
Keir said his son’s influence is inspiring.
“Huck’s given away thousands of helmets to kids all over Ohio, and when a little kid’s doing backflips and is a national champion and tells you to wear a helmet, you’re more apt to listen,” he said.
