BMX world champion Kieran Reilly fuelling Olympic dreams

By Elise Hamersley

BMX freestyle world champion Kieran Reilly admits getting the right nutrition transformed his preparation for Paris 2024.

Since becoming the first person in the world to land a triple flair in 2021, Reilly has picked up national, European and world titles and now aims to soar to the top of the podium this summer.

The 22-year-old from Gateshead is an ambassador for Aldi, the Official Supermarket Partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB.

After moving away from his parents to Corby, home to Europe's largest urban sports venue, nutrition has become a crucial part of Reilly’s approach to his Olympic preparation and Aldi is supporting all athletes with a monthly food voucher to fuel them through training, competitions and Paris.

“Fuel for us is everything, if I’m not fuelling right I’m not riding right,” Reilly said.

“I’ll always argue consistency over intensity and in order to do what we do consistently, you have to fuel right.

“If I come to the park and I’m under fuelled and tired, it literally increases how dangerous it is because I’m not there with the bike how I should be, my energy levels aren’t there.

“I’m quite young and I’m quite new to all of this.

“That was probably the biggest shift in my career – being able to eat right to fuel training right.”

In addition to supporting athletes, the supermarket’s ‘Get Set to Eat Fresh’ programme aims to help children aged five to 14 develop the skills required to cook nutritious, affordable meals.

To date, this partnership has reached over 2.6 million young people, with a target to educate another 400,000 children by the end of 2024.

Having left home, Reilly understands the importance of understanding how a healthy lifestyle can take your performance to the next level.

“When I moved from Newcastle to Corby it was four hours away and the first time I had my own space,” he added.

“I had to learn to cook for myself, buy the right food and I absolutely didn’t do that.

“I started to look less and less like an athlete gunning for the Olympics because I didn’t know, I didn’t have the education or knowledge of how I should fuel properly.

“So, Aldi’s initiative is massive, especially with younger kids. If someone moves out with a better education it changes their life.”

Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024