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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
REGAN Wasmuth’s participation at this year’s Thor Winter Olympics Supercross and Motocross Championships in Florida, United States, ended prematurely on Tuesday when the young Zimbabwean rider sustained a serious ankle injury during practice. According to Wasmuth’s father, Warren, his 17-year-old son is no longer playing any further part in the 125cc High School Class at this major international motorcycling competition, which got underway on Monday, after he went out injured during third lap of practice at the event on Tuesday when he came up slightly short of clearing a triple jump and as a result sustained a compression fracture in his left ankle.

“He didn’t get a chance to push for a decent lap time. However, he still set the 5th fastest time of the session.

“But not all is lost, though, as Regan’s trainer is very excited about the prospects of him moving forward and they have already started planning his return to the USA to compete next year,” Warren Wasmuth said yesterday. Regan has also been invited to race in Europe by EHR Racing based in France. So whilst he misses out on competing at the on-going “Mini O’s” in Florida, a lot of doors have opened for him.

But at this stage it looks like Regan will miss out on next month’s Zim Summer Series too.

The season-ending Zim Series has been slated for December 12, 14 and 16 at Donnybrook in Harare and it will have its traditional two days of Supercross racing during the first two days followed by a full day of motocross action on the last day of this annual competition.

And Regan Wasmuth, who recently indicated that he will be racing for the last time as a junior this year, will not be part of the proceedings at the 2018 Zimbabwe Summer Series after his latest injury setback at the Thor Winter Olympics in Florida, United States, on Tuesday.

This has left another young biker Tanya Muzinda (14) as the only rider who is now carrying the Zimbabwean flag at this six-day Supercross and motocross jamboree.

Muzinda, the postergirl of Zimbabwean motocross, is making her debut appearance at the Thor Winter Olympics and she is competing in the Senior Girls 12-16 age-group as well as the women’s big bikes section. Muzinda’s father and trainer, Tawanda, told The Herald from Florida that his daughter was expected to take part in her first Supercross race late on Wednesday, which was the final day of Supercross action at this event and it will be followed by motocross racing from yesterday until tomorrow.

“…We have over 70 classes on the ground at this competition and here things are done or work differently from what we do back home in Africa and Europe (where Tanya has been racing for the past two years). “Things here are done more professionally… There’s too much order even from the small bikes level. We are still years backwards in Africa to catch up with these US athletes and those in Europe are a bit far also. “Back home in Zim we train for four hours per week and here in the United States they train for eight hours a day. World class athletes are produced here and I personally feel that if Tanya is to turn into a fully-fledged professional, she should stay here.

“All the same, we are learning a lot here though in a good way,” Tawanda Muzinda said. The Thor Winter Olympics are one of the premier amateur motocross racing events in the United States as they bring together riders from all over the world who, for six days, will battle to be crowned Olympiad Champion.

They are also a part of the American Motocross Championship Majors — an alliance made up of an elite group of race organisers that host premier amateur and professional motocross events in the United States.