DPA
Paris
Chinese BMX rider Deng Yawen and Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil saw off the competition in the Paris sunshine to surprise Olympic golds in the women’s and men’s park final on Wednesday.
It was a first medal for Argentina so far at these 2024 Games and a first gold since Rio 2016.
“I couldn’t understand that I had won, it’s totally crazy, it brought tears to my eyes. Now I can cry alone,” Torres Gil said.
“It means everything. It’s my life, four years working with the team.” He won thanks to a first run of 94.82 points with his minute routine and world champion Kieran Darren David Reilly of Britain took silver.
France’s Anthony Jeanjean grabbed bronze, much to the annoyance of the home crowd who booed when he was not placed first.
“I’m a bit disappointed, I wasn’t coming for the bronze but for gold,” he said. “I don’t see the public as a pressure but more like an asset, I try to use it.”
His first run was a wash-out but only one run counts. He gave everything second time but a superb double backflip was still not enough for gold or silver. Tokyo champion Logan Martin of Australia was last in ninth.
Deng’s second of two runs of 92.60 secured women’s victory for the 18-year-old at the spectacular setting of Place de la Concorde right in the heart of Paris.
“After the first run, I was on top and that gave me more confidence to level up my performance in the second run,” she said.
Perris Benegas was second for the US, with Australian Natalya Diehm taking a solid bronze.
The freestyle or park version of BMX was only added to the Olympic programme three years ago in Tokyo in a bid to boost youth engagement with the Games. Riders pull off various tricks and flips on a closed course of artificial slopes.
The women’s champion in Japan, Britain’s Charlotte Worthington, went out in qualification and then Tokyo silver medallist Hannah Roberts of the US came off the bike in the final run of the Paris final to hand glory to Deng.
She was only sixth at last year’s world championships in Glasgow.
