The team at Pitch is delighted to bring you an inspirational story of female sporting excellence. One of triumph over adversity. Set in the traditionally male-dominated world of BMX. 

Released on 12 September, The Power of Belief is the story of Olympic gold-medallist and world champion Bethany Shriever. Her rise from obscurity to the top of the BMX world is both the stuff of fairytales and a firm reminder that the path to greatness is often beset with setbacks and heartache.

When UK Sport removed funding for women’s BMX, Bethany’s dream of Olympic glory seemed to be over. Throw in the impact of a broken leg sustained in childhood, an untimely arm injury weeks before the final Olympic qualification event, and few would have thought the 22-year-old would be on the plane to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, let alone the podium.

All with the uncertainty caused by a global pandemic. The external pressures on Beth were intense and pervasive.

But the BMX racer from Essex is made of stern stuff and, perhaps just as importantly, so are the team around her. From her deeply involved family, to her dedicated coaching team, to her friends within the BMX community, Beth’s story recognises the team behind an athlete.

This compelling tale reveals how the power of belief helped Bethany overcome the obstacles that threatened to derail her dreams of becoming the best-ever female BMX racer and the first Briton to win both Olympic and World titles in the same year.

To tell her story, Beth collaborated with sports journalist and author Sarah Juggins. Sarah’s previous books include Under An Orange Sky: The Story of the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup 2018 and The History Makers: How Team GB Stormed to a First Ever Gold in Women's Hockey, winner of the Thomson-Reuters Illustrated Sports Book of the Year.