On day five of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the BMX Freestyle team headed to La Concorde in downtown Paris for qualifying. Athletes representing Team USA included Hannah Roberts (Buchanan, Mich.; Hyper BMX), Perris Benegas (Reno, Nev.; Haro BMX), Marcus Christopher (Canton, Ohio; DK Bicycles), and Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, Va.; Hyper BMX). After having a strong season leading up to the Games, all four riders are being considered medal contenders.
Women:
Benegas was the first rider to drop. On her first qualification run, she impressed the judges with her bar spins, x-ups, and tabletops. Her first score was 86.20. On her second run, she had a flawless ride. Between her big bar spin and turn down, she solidly scored 84.68 which was good enough for an average combined score of 85.44, placing her fourth overall. After finding out that she qualified for finals, Benegas said, “Qualifying is always stressful considering both runs count. I’m happy to have pulled off both my runs and to have another chance to ride tomorrow.”
Roberts has been training hard leading up to the Games. Winning the Olympic Qualifier Series, and going into the Games as the World Champion, the world was excited to see the tricks she was going to display. On the first run, Roberts wowed the judges with a perfect tuck no-hand bar spin. Roberts, a five-time world champion, didn’t let up. She immediately went into a superman tail whip. The judges scored her with a 91.80. On her second run, the judges scored her a 91.10, making her overall score a 91.45 which placed her in first overall qualifying her for the finals.
“I stuck to what I needed to do. I tried not to change too much. I made a few mistakes, but I kept on staying focused. There was a lens cap that fell off the top deck that I had to ride around... I just knew I needed to keep the rubber side down,” said Roberts after throwing down the best performance of the day on the women’s side. “This is all just so surreal. Being here with the crowd at the Olympics, I am just soaking it all in.” Roberts hopes to better her run tomorrow where she’ll be the last rider to drop.
Qualified Riders:
- Hannah Roberts (USA) - 91.45
- Yawen Deng (CHN) - 91.03
- Jiaqi Sun (CHN) - 87.83
- Perris Benegas (USA) - 85.44
- Iveta Miculycova (CZE) - 84.46
- Queen Saray Villegas Serna (COL) - 84.42
- Macarena Perez Grasset (CHI) - 84.24
- Natalya Diehm (AUS) - 83.89
- Laury Perez (FRA) - 83.26
Men:
As the ramps were heating up, Dowell and Christopher were focused on the goal at hand, qualifying for the finals tomorrow. Between the two Americans, Dowell was the first to go. With tricks that included a bar spin, 540 transfer, and 360 no-hander, the judges scored him 88.40 on his first run. He later bettered that score with an 89.74 in his second round. This gave him an average of 89.07 which placed him fourth overall. “Those were two excellent runs. That was exactly what I had planned,” said Dowell when talking about today’s ride. He’s now focused on tomorrow saying, “As far as the line goes, it will probably be the same line around the course, but the trick level will be increased by a lot.”
His teammate, Christopher, showed the world his style and the judges happily scored him with a 90.10. On his second run, he put down a solid set of tricks to earn an 88.87. In total, he earned an average of 89.48 which was good enough for second overall. A placement he was happy with saying, “I really couldn’t feel better. I landed two perfect runs. Bring on tomorrow. My whole run will be better for tomorrow, all different tricks. Hopefully, it all goes according to plan.” When asked if he improvised today’s tricks he said, “It’s all part of a plan. I might switch a trick here or there on the fly but it’s mainly all part of a plan.”
Team USA wrapped the day excited and eager to take on the finals tomorrow. The United States was the only country to qualify four riders into the Olympic Games, and now all four riders have advanced to the final round. Tomorrow, these athletes will compete for Olympic gold, and many have a few surprises up their sleeves.
Qualified Riders:
- Kieran Reilly (GBR) - 91.21
- Marcus Christopher (USA) - 89.48
- Logan Martin (AUS) - 89.39
- Justin Dowell (USA) - 89.07
- Anthony Jeanjean (FRA) - 87.58
- Rim Nakamura (JPN) - 87.03
- Jose Toerres (ARG) - 86.66
- Gustavo Oliveira (BRA) - 85.79
- Ernest Zebolds (LAT) - 84.94
USA Cycling Olympic Hub:
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