Chorlton's BMX star Charlotte Worthington on her unlikely journey from collecting glasses to Olympic gold

But the Chorlton ace became an unexpected star at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 - winning the BMX Freestyle event and becoming the first ever Brit to win a medal in the event as it made its debut at the games. In winning gold, Worthington became the first woman to land a 360-degree backflip.

Following the Tokyo games, Charlotte took a break from the sport and found it strange adjusting to life as an Olympic champion. Not unexpected for someone who really had no intentions of being an elite athlete growing up. Her life working in kitchens and studies at college meant no-one could have predicated what a breakout star she would become on two wheels.

“I started as a glass collector because my dad was asking around if anyone had any work as a side job,” Worthington told SportsBoom. “It was fun for a little bit while I did it, but I wouldn’t want to do it for the rest of my life. 

“At college, I was interested in cameras and studied photography and media. I thought I might be interested in filming or video editing. When I started to do it as a job, I didn’t enjoy it as much. I liked to do things in my own way rather than make something someone else wanted.”

Late to the sport in comparison to others, Worthington was working as a chef in a Mexican restaurant when she first fully got into the sport.

“I didn’t pick up BMX full-time until I was 19,” she said. “I used to ride scooters before. It is the same kind of sport with the same basics. It hinders you in some ways, but it massively benefits you in others.

“At the time, I worked in a kitchen so it was something like a new hobby I enjoyed and thought, I might be quite good at this. Then, I went to this festival called NAAS festival which was probably the biggest action sports competition at the time.”

At the festival, Worthington had a chance encounter and it helped to move her closer to becoming an Olympian. This month, she heads to Paris to defend her Olympic title. 

“I bumped into a few people who happened to tell me British Cycling was forming an Olympic team for the Tokyo Games and there was a number to call. I thought ‘worst case scenario I get a free trip to North Carolina with my bike and meet some cool people.’ As it happened, I got the trip and got selected for the team.”

Worthington will compete in the Women’s BMX Freestyle qualification at 12.25pm on July 30. If she gets through, she will be in the final on July 31 at 12.10pm.