Great Britain sensation Cooper Rushen can’t wait to take one of the biggest tests of his career so far as he lines up in 2026 FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 – Prague on Friday.
Rushen, aged 16, is currently sitting his GCSE school exams, taken by all students in the United Kingdom in the year they turn 16. But he has been given special dispensation to miss his Physical Education test on Friday as the Lions compete against seven of the world’s top under-21 teams for the 2026 FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship.
GB meets hosts Czech Republic, 2025 SON2 champions Germany, Denmark, Australia, Poland, Sweden and SON2 debutants Ukraine at Prague’s iconic Marketa Stadium, which also stages the 2026 FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic – Prague on Saturday night.
It’s the 30th straight year of FIM Speedway action to take place at Marketa, and Rushen, who is named in the No.3 substitute role, hopes to push for the SON2 podium alongside GB skipper Luke Harrison and his Poole Pirates teammate Will Cairns, who is also 16. With team manager Neil Vatcher able to draft Rushen in at any time, he has the nicest of problems as he decides which of his three in-form riders can bring home the points for the Lions.
Luke Killeen was originally set to race for GB due to Rushen’s exam commitments. But with the Sheffield and Oxford rider injured, Rushen steps up, swapping his PE exam for a test against the best young riders in the world.
He said: “I’ve pulled some strings. I am missing the exam to go and represent GB. There is the rule where if you miss the exam for a reason like this, they can base your grade on what you have done throughout the year and on another exam. They can kind of predict your grade.
“Even without that, I’ve had chemistry, English and physics this week – I have had an exam every day, so there is a lot going on for sure.
“It’s going to be tough to balance it all, but because everything is happening so fast, we’ll make it happen. In speedway, things always seem so unrealistic, but it always happens. That’s the speedway life, and I think that’s what makes it so exciting. I thank GB for the opportunity. I can’t wait to get out there in a GB race suit.”
As well as racing for Rowe Motor Oil Premiership club King’s Lynn and Cab Direct Championship side Poole in the UK, Rushen also competes for Polish team Leszno. This means getting bikes to Prague was easier.
But he admitted: “Lots of planning and organisation has gone into getting us there on Friday. We have been speaking to everyone we can to try and make it happen. Dad flew out on Tuesday with a mechanic from Britain to finish getting the bikes ready in Poland. In the last meeting there, I snapped a rocker arm, so we have to get things sorted out.
“I had an exam at school this morning. Then I am going straight from my exam to Prague to get there by tonight.”
Rushen did not expect to be racing for GB in World Under-21 competition less than two months after his 16th birthday on March 29. He looks forward to joining forces with some familiar faces.
He said: “It will be a great opportunity. I wasn’t expecting it. Going into this year, I was just focusing on improving my averages in the leagues. It has kind of come from nowhere.
“I have been riding with Will and Luke since my British Youth Championship days. It has been the best part of five or six years riding together.
“It’s always exciting, being out on track with them. I remember us riding on the 125cc bikes together, so to now be riding together in SON2 is a pretty awesome feeling. It will definitely be cool, being on the track walk with them and just taking in the whole moment.”
Going into the event, Poland tracks 2024 SON2-winning pair Wiktor Przyjemski and Bartosz Banbor as they seek their 18th gold medal in 22 years, while Denmark lists three riders with SGP2 experience in Villads Nagel, Bastian Pedersen and Mikkel Andersen.
Australia names an unchanged starting pair in Mitchell McDiarmid and Tate Zischke, who teamed up to win SON2 bronze in Torun last season, while Sweden’s challenge is led by 2023 SGP3 champion Rasmus Karlsson.
The Czech team features local hero Adam Bubba Bednar, who also races as wild card in Saturday’s Speedway GP event, where he competes against Ukrainian hero Nazar Parnitskyi, who leads his country into their first FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship Final since 2011.
Germany won the 2025 SON2 event, and one of their heroes in Torun, Mario Hausl, captains the side. He joins partner Janek Konzack, as well as 2025 FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy winner Hannah Grunwald, who was also named in the No.3 role last season.
While Rushen admits other teams may be fancied for gold, he said: “It’s sometimes nice being the underdog. The Danes and the Poles are strong; there is no doubt about it. But speedway is a very weird sport, where things change very quickly. Anyone is beatable.
“We will all give it our all. We’ll go there elbows out, do GB proud and wear that suit with pride. If all three of us can get some wins on the board, it would be awesome. To be up there fighting for a medal would add to the excitement of the day and the overall experience.”
2026 FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS – SON2 – PRAGUE STARTING LINE-UPS:
TEAM A – GREAT BRITAIN
1. Luke Harrison ©
2. Will Cairns
3. Cooper Rushen
Team manager: Neil Vatcher
TEAM B – CZECH REPUBLIC
1. Adam Bubba Bednar ©
2. Adam Nejezchleba
3. Bruno Belan
Team manager: Zdenek Schneiderwind
TEAM C – GERMANY
1. Janek Konzack
2. Mario Hausl ©
3. Hannah Grunwald
Team managers: Mathias Bartz & Sascha Dorner
TEAM D – DENMARK
1. Villads Nagel ©
2. Bastian Pedersen
3. Mikkel Andersen
Team manager: Nicki Pedersen
TEAM E – UKRAINE
1. Roman Kapustin
2. Nazar Parnitskyi ©
3. Danko Hladkovskyi
Team manager: Sergii Golovnia
TEAM F – POLAND
1. Wiktor Przyjemski ©
2. Bartosz Banbor
3. Kevin Malkiewicz
Team manager: Stanislaw Chomski
TEAM G – SWEDEN
1. Rasmus Karlsson
2. Sammy Van Dyck
3. Erik Persson ©
Team manager: Linus Sundstrom
TEAM H – AUSTRALIA
1. Mitchell McDiarmid ©
2. Tate Zischke
3. Beau Bailey
Team manager: Mark Lemon