Artifact Object ID: 26.0030

Artifact Name: Harry Leary's 2017 UCI Worlds Championship Helmet

Category: Helmet

Source: Leary Locker
Collection: Lititz BMX Archive

Location: Lititz, Pennsylvania 

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Harry Leary – 2017 UCI BMX World Championships Helmet

This helmet worn by BMX legend Harry Leary was used during the 2017 BMX World Championships, an international competition sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The event brings together riders from around the world to compete for world titles across multiple age and skill classes, representing the highest level of international BMX competition.

Harry Leary first rose to prominence during the early years of organized BMX racing in the late 1970s and 1980s. Known for his aggressive riding style and the iconic “Leary Air,” he became one of the most recognizable figures of BMX’s formative era. Unlike many riders from that generation, Leary continued to race competitively for decades, returning to national and international events long after his original professional career.

By the time of the 2017 UCI BMX World Championships, Leary was competing alongside riders from a new generation while still representing the pioneering era that helped establish the sport. His participation in the event illustrates the remarkable longevity of some of BMX’s earliest champions and their ongoing connection to the racing community.

A photograph from the event shows Leary wearing this helmet as part of the Team USA program, which allows American riders to compete internationally at the World Championships. The jersey from that Team USA photo was later gifted to fellow BMX racer Greg Mathias, who preserved and framed the jersey along with memorabilia from the event as part of a display honoring the shared history of BMX racers from different eras.

Within the Lititz BMX Archive, this helmet represents more than just race equipment. It serves as a symbol of the long arc of Harry Leary’s involvement in BMX—from the sport’s earliest grassroots days to modern international competition—demonstrating how the pioneers of BMX remained connected to the sport and its community across multiple generations of riders.

Related Media

Related Artifacts:

• Artifact 26.0062 - Harry Leary "Harry" DIRTWERX Helmet

• Artifact 26.0086 - Harry Leary BIOLAB "Leary" "25" Jersey

• Artifact 26.0032 - Greg Mathias Signed Harry Leary Helmet

Highlighted Campaign Pages:

• #OperationDIRTWERX - The Story

• 10,000 Hours - Sometimes You Feel Tired

• #RebuildRadicalRick - Episode 1: We Can Rebuild Him - The Puzzle Begins

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Lititz BMX is an independent archive documenting the 

history and culture of BMX through artifacts, interviews, and storytelling. 

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