PARIS (AP) — Jose Torres Gil won the men’s freestyle BMX gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, putting together a sublime first run that withstood the best efforts of British world champion Kieran Reilly and French superstar Anthony JeanJean.
The rider from Argentina opened with a massive 720, threw down another 720 later in the run and managed to ride through a near-bobble at the end to score 94.82 points. That was better than everyone else, including his own second run, when Torres Gil put together another big score that very nearly would have landed him on the podium.
Reilly had the last chance to capture gold, and his run was worthy of the top step just about any other day. But despite a clean run that he was so pleased with that he chucked his bike to the ground in satisfaction, his score of 93.91 came up just short.
JeanJean crashed on his opening run but mounted a big comeback, getting the home crowd into his performance in the urban sports park at Place de la Concorde. But the judges awarded him only 93.76 points, relegating him to the bronze medal.
Marcus Christopher of the United States finished just off the podium in fourth. Rimu Nakamura of Japan was fifth.
The defending gold medalist, Logan Martin of Australia, crashed out of both of his runs. He had a good first one going before a slipup on an innocuous jump at the end cost him. His second run ended after just a few seconds when he clipped a landing.
There was plenty of amplitude — and very little shade — on a hot day at BMX in Paris. It was the second time the freestyle version has been on display at the Summer Olympics, and the riders managed to up their game three years after Tokyo.
Nobody higher than Torres Gil, who was not considered among the favorites for gold, or perhaps even the podium.
But the 29-year-old from Cordoba caught everyone by surprise, beginning with his first huge transfer on one of the biggest parks that freestyle BMX riders will ever see. Torres Gil continued to carry speed around it, his transitions crisp and his landings even better, and the third run of the entire finals turned out to be the best.
Not that everyone agreed.
Jeanjean crashed so hard on his opening jump that his white shoe flew of his foot and went skittering across the park. But he landed the same jump on his next go, and his crowd-pleasing run that wrapped with a double backflip had a packed crowd on its feet and cheering. Jeanjean dismounted on the course and stared at the scoreboard until his score was flashed.
Reilly had the last chance, and he also was pleased with his run. He hugged his coach and BMX legend Jamie Bestwick at the end, and was greeted by British teammate Charlotte Worthington, whose hopes of defending her Olympic gold medal ending in the qualifying rounds. But when Reilly’s score was finally revealed, it was good enough only for silver.
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