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PARIS — Every park has its quirks, its eccentricities, its charms. Every park means the world to someone who has spent their days learning to ride there. But no park on earth can match the history of Parc Urbain, the skate/bike/breaking center in the heart of Paris. Here, history looms on every side, and the only way to free yourself from it is to rise above it — which is literally what two sets of medalists did Tuesday at the Olympic BMX freestyle event at Place de la Concorde.
Unlike BMX racing, where riders compete against each other, freestyle gives riders the space and creativity to come up with as many tricks as possible in two, one-minute runs. On the women’s side, Hannah Roberts of the United States came in as the top qualifier on Wednesday, and her first run started strong — box jump, backflip, bar spin — only to end a few seconds early when she failed to land her final front flip and scored just a 70.00. China’s Deng Yawen’s double tail whip and triple bar spin earned her a leading first-round 92.50. Australia’s Natalya Diehm (88.80) and Chile’s Maracena Perez Grasset rounded out the top three.
Team USA’s Perris Benegas had a strong first run, jumping a lot for almost her entire minute. However, she didn’t quite have the style the judges wanted, and she finished that round with an 83.40.
The first rider of the afternoon, France’s Laury Perez, a clear favorite from her hometown, fell hard on her very first trick and was unable to continue her first run. Perez only managed a 63.40 in her second run. China’s Sun Jiaqi took a frightening fall at the end of her first lap, leaving her shaken but able to get off the course under her own steam. She fell again early in her second run, ending any hopes of a medal, but was warmly applauded by the crowd for her determined effort to continue.
In her second run, Diehm couldn’t improve on her first, finishing with an 87.70. Chile’s Perez Grasset, who was riding to the heartbeat of Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart,” moved up a bit with an 84.55. But Colombia’s Serna Villegas gave her an 88.00 in the second run, taking over the conditional bronze medal, but only for a moment.
In her second run, American Benegas climbed high into the air again, but this time with a bit more style than in the first round. Her second run 90.70 brought her all the way to a medal spot; the only question that remained was whether it would be silver or bronze.
Deng rode with at least a silver medal in her pocket and improved her score by a tenth of a point to a time of 92.60, achieving the highest score.
That meant the entire competition depended on Roberts, whose first run fell well short of the podium. But she didn’t land her first jump cleanly and threw her bike to the ground in frustration. An American was supposed to win a medal on Wednesday, but it wasn’t her. Silver would go to Benegas.
“She’s one of my best friends and I know how good she is as a competitor. She’s very dominant and wins a lot of events,” Benegas said. “I was biting my nails. I didn’t want to wish that on anyone, but I wanted to be on the podium so badly. It just happened to fall my way and I’m so proud.”
The men started hotter than the scorching temperatures, with Brazil’s Gustavo Batista de Oliveira making his debut with a 90.20 and Argentina’s Jose Torres going one better with a stunning 94.82. Japan’s Rimu Nakamaura posted a 90.35 to finish third after the round.
Like his French colleague Perez, Anthony Jeanjean almost immediately went off in his first run, losing his shoe in a failed trick. Immediately after him, the first American male rider, Justin Dowell, with his 88.35 was not enough to put him on a provisional podium after his first run.
Perhaps the crashes were contagious, as defending gold medalist Logan Martin caught his rear wheel on a jump in his final 10 seconds, ruining a stunning run, and then Marcus Christopher of the United States lost it early in his run. Britain’s Kieran Reilly, Tuesday’s top qualifier, stopped the run of crashes by running a 93.70 to put himself in silver medal position after the first lap.
The second round began with medals on the line, and Batista de Oliveira could not close the gap on the leaders. Torres, in the provisional gold medal spot, could not improve on his first round. Nakamura added a touch to his bronze score, rising to a 90.89.
Then came Jeanjean, carrying the weight of the home crowd on his shoulders with no room for error. The Flying Frenchman lived up to his nickname, sailing high above the track with somersaults and tail whips time and time again. After an agonizingly long wait, he was given a score of 93.76, good enough for a potential silver medal.
Dowell and Martin gave up early when it became clear they were out of contention for medals. Christopher improved his first run, but his 93.11 was not enough to get on the podium, meaning the US was out of contention for a medal in the men’s division.
Reilly, already assured of a bronze medal, put his best foot forward for his final round, running an impressive 93.91 to finish with a silver medal. Torres’ first run held up for gold, and Jeanjean’s comeback run secured him a bronze medal.
Added only for the 2021 Games, BMX Freestyle is already one of the hottest new events at the Olympics. Martin’s gold medal-winning score in 2021 wouldn’t even have been on the podium in 2024. The crowd was lively and engaged, and the atmosphere was absolutely electric. There’s a new vibe at the Olympics, and BMX freestylers are leading the way.
