BMX in the Olympics

USA Wins Silver and 2 Bronze in BMX in Bejing Olympics

It's been a long time coming, but BMX (bicycle motocross) finally made it into the Olympic Games. Amazingly though, it barely made it on TV, you had to stay up late to catch it. However, you can watch it all online nowadays, which is way cool.

Watch the BMX main events at the Bejing Olympics
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0821_HD_CBB_EN167

If you are from the United States and you've been involved with BMX for a while like I have, then you were probably a little disappointed that USA did not win the Gold. We did capture Silver and Bronze, but somehow that just doesn't seem right. I mean BMX was born here and kids have bee racing here for 30 years now, just waiting for the day.

It was good to see Donny Robinson win a medal, even if it was Bronze. Watching this kid grow up and fight all his life to win, you have to respect him. You see, he's always been much smaller than his competition, and even after pumping iron to beef up and get where he is today, he still stood almost a foot smaller than the other medal winners on the podium.

Mike Day looked super smooth in the prelims, and looked like he might win, but had to settle for the Silver. Mike has come on strong in recent years and had been practicing hard to prepare for this race.

Now the Gold medal. Who is this guy Maris Strombergs from Latvia? I mean maybe I've been sleeping under a rock, but I had never heard of the guy before the Olympics. Okay, I haven't raced in a couple of years, but seriously, Latvia? A quick search on the 2008 NBL pro points list shows him at number 30 in the NBL, just behind Mike Day. He didn't make the list from 2007. And I couldn't find him on the 2008 ABA list. His bio from the Olympics says he's the World Champion, but that's about all. Anyway, he was flyin' in Bejing and now he owns the first ever BMX Gold medal.

Some of my other favorites to watch were Jared Graves and Anne-Caroline Chausson. These guys are mountain bikers and oddly enough they were showing the most bmx style. Jared looked good all the way through the qualifiers, but wound up 6th in the main. ACC took the Gold in the chrased filled women's main.

Jill Kinter, USA's favorite girl took the bronze. A few years ago, Jill couldn't be beat on a bmx bike, and lately she's been unbeatable on the mountain bike. But, her time away must have taken away some of her twenty inch skills. Either that or it was ACC, who is also unstoppable on the big wheels.

Unfortunately, Kyle Bennett and Cristian Becerine did not make the mains. They both looked good in the qualifiers, but some spills took their toll on them. Hopefully, Kyle's shoulder will heel up before the NBL Grands where his number 3 and Cristian is leading in points.

That's it from the 2008 Bejing Olympics (at my desk). Be sure to watch the BMX races online at http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0821_HD_CBB_EN167 You may have to install the player and fill out some information, but it's worth it. The quality is primo considering it is the internet.

Ride on,
Barry Page
www.atbmx.com