Ipswich in Spring 2019

HOW A YOUNG IPSWICH GIRL CAME TO MEET HER HERO

Sophia Ipswich and saw she was a young BMX rider, and thought that was really cool. “I got back to the organisers and said I would love to do an event.” Buchanan shared her story at Ipswich Central Library and caught up with Sophia. As it turns out, the two have plenty in common. By sheer coincidence, Sophia’s current school teacher, Stephanie Lovat at Sacred Heart Booval, also taught Caroline Buchanan when she was growing up in Canberra. Just like Buchanan, Sophia is quickly making a name for herself in the world of competitive BMX riding, with three consecutive national titles under her belt so far. Subscribe free to Ipswich First news alerts at Ipswichfirst.com.au/subscribe

When Silkstone’s Sophia Preston wrote to Ipswich Libraries to donate two copies of a book she thought other children may enjoy, she could not have guessed it would end with a special meeting with her hero, world champion BMX rider Caroline Buchanan. Sophia, 9, is herself a BMX rider and said she decided to donate copies of the book so other children could read its positive message. On receiving a handwritten note from Sophia, staff at Ipswich Libraries not only added the book to the collection but also reached out to Buchanan about visiting for a special event. “It’s a small world. I was sitting on the other side of the world in America and I pulled up my email and saw a scanned copy of the actual letter Sophia wrote to the library,” Buchanan said. “At the time I didn’t recognise the name but I jumped on Google and typed in

25