Zachary FenellBeijing Olympic BMX Medal Tally
August 23rd 2008 05:51
The Bicycle Motocross Olympians
Maris Strombergs crosses the finish line
History was made last night (Friday June 22nd Australian Time) when the riders crossed the finish line for the first ever Olympic BMX Competition. Staged at the Laoshan BMX Venue in Beijing, the Gold Medal Finals were full aggressive position jockeying and wheel scraping, dirt smashing excitement.
Pumping through fierce moguls, daunting burns and a few manicured airs this was not about showboating. Focused on speed and survival the riders navigated fluid lines for optimum perpetual momentum.
Strombergs chomps down on his Gold
The current World Champion, Latvian Maris Strombergs took the Gold in the men’s event. Dominating in the heats and semis he started out of Gate Number 1 for the one that mattered. Leading the field from the start, a few accidents attacking the big burn removed many of the competitors including Australia’s Jared Graves.
The Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson walked away with silver and bronze.
The Women battle
The Women’s race was an even hairier experience with many yielding to challenging, hard grinding earth and proactive shuffling.
From the official Olympic site:
“The chance of an Olympic medal lured Mountain Bike downhill queen Anne-Caroline Chausson of France out of retirement.
Fending off the pre-race favourite, Shanaze Reade of Great Britain, Chausson passed Reade in a daring inside pass on the first corner to claim the gold medal.
Chausson already had 13 world titles in three disciplines in downhill Mountain Bike, which is not an Olympic event.
Reade clipped wheels in a desperate attempt to pass Chausson in the third and final turn, only to crash out of the medals. France's Laetitia le Corguille avoided the crash to take the silver.
Jill Kintner of the United States, a three-time Four-Cross world champion, won bronze despite riding with injured knee ligaments.”
Exciting to watch and hotly contested, overall I think that BMX made a worthy debut at this year’s games and hope that it is now a permanent addition.
The Women on the Olympic Podium
See all Results
All Photos courtesy of the Official Olympics Website
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