NINE-year-old Judd Howard competed in the BMX World Championships in the USA last week.

Only three Australian riders made the overseas trip to compete in Judd’s age group, with Judd the only racer from WA.

Riding BMX since he was four years old, Judd is now coached by former Olympian Khalen Young, and rides for MVK and Wanneroo BMX Club.

His mum, Shenae Howard, said her son loves racing and hopes to go professional in the future.

“He’s so passionate about it,” she said.

Wanneroo got behind their riders as they prepared to head overseas for World Championships, holding a fundraising night complete with competitions and raffles two weeks before competition to help fund the riders’ journeys.

Judd was joined in the USA by clubmates Karl Mustchin, Brad Ross, and John-Joshua Myburgh. Howard and Mustchin both made it to semi-finals in their respective age categories.

The world championships, held at Rock Hill in South Carolina, spanned a week of racing events for all ages and ability levels. For the elite riders, World Championships were the final event to accrue qualifying points for the upcoming Olympic Games. More than 3500 riders competed in this year’s event across all categories, ranging from ages eight to 62. The under-10 age category hosted 108 competitors, the largest Challenge category group.

Judd made it through a series of four heat races and quarter finals to get to semi-finals. He crashed on the final turn, ending his competition for the week but leaving him ranked 16th in the world for his age category.