ALLBIDS Blog

Charity Auction in aid of Sam Willoughby - The BMX Bandit

Friday, 24 February 2017 | Muhammad Awais

Let us tell you about Sam Willoughby. Sam Willoughby is a game-changer in the world of BMX racing. Since bursting onto the scene winning back to back Junior Elite World Titles in 2008 and 2009, Sam has won just about every title imaginable. Alongside his unmatched pro winning streak in USA BMX history, he has won 3 overall USA BMX National #1 Pro titles, multiple Elite Men World Titles, multiple Australian National Titles and is a 2x Olympian with a Silver Medal performance
during the 2012 London Olympic Games.

On Sept 10, 2016, Sam had a training accident on the local Chula Vista BMX track where he was airlifted to the hospital and operated on that evening due to sustaining fractures in his C6 and C7 vertebrae which severely compressed his spinal cord and left him with no movement below his chest. The operation involved removing his C6 vertebrae, replacing it with a titanium cage, and fusing his C5-C7 vertebrae with a plate and 4 screws. Fortunately, this surgery was successful enough at decompressing his spinal cord and aligning his vertebrae that no second operation for further stabilization was necessary. 

However, trauma to the spinal cord at this extent is not an overnight recovery and leaves us with an extremely unknown prognosis. At this stage, Sam has regained use of his arms and is slowly regaining slight sensations in his legs. The recovery process is a long and ongoing challenge for Sam, and as such any support that can be offered by the broader community is greatly appreciated.

Currently on auction at ALLBIDS, we have a Clipsal 500 experience for two. All proceeds will go to Sam. The experience includes:

2 x 2017 4 –day Barry Sheene Pit Straight Grandstand Tickets2017
Value: $330 per ticket March 2-5
1 x 2017 Clipsal 500 Adelaide Supercars Hot Lap
Value: ‘Money Can’t Buy’
Friday 3 March 2017 between 4:30pm & 6pm. Exact time to be confirmed with winner closer to the event