Sarah Walker

Early life Walker was born in Whakatāne in the Bay of Plenty, and grew up in nearby Kawerau. Of Māori and European descent, she attended Kawerau South School

BMX career Walker took up BMX due to sibling rivalry; she wanted to be able to do what her younger brother could do, and do it better than him. and was one of the favourites to win the BMX women's event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, in the end she finished fourth.

At the 2010 BMX World Championship in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Walker finished second in the Elite Women's event, with first place going to Shanaze Reade. A crash during the Elite Cruiser event meant that Walker was not able hold on to her 2009 championship title.

In 2011, Walker made the podium in three out of four World Cup events to win the overall World Cup title, winning the Papendal Supercross in the Netherlands, second at the Test Event in London and third in South Africa. The fourth event was in USA where she finished sixth.

At the 2012 Supercross in Norway, Walker dislocated her shoulder, which almost put her out of contention for the Olympics in London. After six weeks, she had to qualify for the Olympics at the World Championships in Birmingham, England where she did so with a fifth place in the semi-final.

At the September 2014 UCI BMX Racing World Cup race in California, Walker had a fall and suffered a serious head injury. Whilst her helmet cam recorded her calmly giving detailed accounts to medical staff of what happened to her, she has no recollection of the entire day. She had daily headaches for the next six weeks, and it was five months before she received medical clearance.

As well as competing in BMX events around the world, Walker has also been the marketing face for Beef + Lamb New Zealand since 2008. She is a sponsored rider for Avanti Bikes, using their line of ABD BMX bikes when racing.

Olympic career Walker wanted to become an Olympic athlete ever since watching New Zealand swimmer Danyon Loader receiving his gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics. She was about to start track cycling and quit BMX when it was announced as an Olympic sport for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing,

Sponsorship and advertising work Walker is an ambassador for Beef and Lamb New Zealand, alongside other athlete ambassadors Lisa Carrington, Eliza McCartney and Sophie Pascoe.

Honours and awards

In the 2025 King's Birthday Honours, Walker was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to BMX and sports governance.