BMX, Men

The reigning Olympic champion in the men’s BMX race was Connor Fields of the United States, and although he had not had strong results at recent major internationals, he was still considered a contender. The 2020 World Championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which left the Netherlands’ Twan van Gendt the most recent world champion, while his compatriot Niek Kimmann had been the runner-up at the event, with their positions being flipped at the 2019 European Championships. Also in contention was Sylvain André of France, who had won a full compliment of medals at the Worlds, with gold in 2018, silver in 2017, and bronze in 2019. Colombian Carlos Ramírez, the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, was also back in Tokyo.

There were no surprises in the quarterfinals, as André, Kimmann, Fields, and France’s Joris Daudet won their heats. Kimmann’s success was impressive, considering that he had fractured his kneecap in an accident shortly before the race, while Daudet was another race favorite and had been world champion in 2011 and 2016.

There was more shock in the semifinals, when van Gendt performed poorly and finished last overall in his heat, while Fields crashed in his third run and was hospitalized, albeit still technically qualifying for the final on the basis of his first two runs. Ramírez and André came second and third in that heat respectively, but the winner was Romain Mahieu of France, a relatively unheralded rider. The other semifinal heat was won by Kimmann, who went on to win the gold medal by edging out Great Britain’s Kye Whyte, who took home silver. Daudet looked to be the bronze medallist, but he fell shortly before the end of the race, allowing Ramírez to claim his second bronze medal.