MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter / Spring 2018

50 MLCM WINTER/SPRING 2018 r o l e m o d e l s words :: Tannis Baradziej It’s called the Bannister Effect. Before Roger Bannister famously ran a sub-four-minute mile in 1954, the feat was thought to be impossible. Yet in the years following his record-breaking run, a flood of athletes was suddenly capable of the same accomplishment. “When a young girl sees an athlete they can identify with, such as a woman in her favourite sport, something is triggered in the brain,” explains Vancouver-based sports psychologist Michelle Newton. “What may have previously seemed difficult or impossible suddenly seems accessible and achievable. That’s why you need to find your champion as a girl. Just find that person who has your back. It could be a coach or another athlete.” And the proof is on the podium. Teigen Pascual is a 14-year-old Squamish BMX racer who recently took home the gold at the 2017 Race of Champions in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She also snagged fourth at the American Grand National that same weekend, enroute to finishing third in North America in her age group for the season. “It felt awesome,” Teigen says of the victory, adding that performing that well in front of coach/mentor/ex-US National Team BMXer Arielle Martin was extra amazing. “I never thought I was going to win, so it just means all that training has paid off.” “Teigen has so much fire,” says Arielle, who lives in Virginia, USA and coaches Teigen primarily through real-time video analysis combined with Skype, text, and phone calls. “She’s very receptive to feedback and coaching, it’s really cool to see her get these results and know that I am getting through to her.” BMX Bandit Squamish’s Teigen Pascual on the Value of Mentorship and Community ABOVE Competing with North America's best in Las Vegas, Nevada. FAR RIGHT Getting RAD at the start gate, Squamish. LEIA COSTA