On day 5 of the Olympic Games in Paris, there were a lot of medals being handed out, and team Great Britain was certainly in the medal mix. For BMX rider Kieran Reilly, the BMX freestyle finals were his chance to shine. And shine he did.
For Reilly, the Paris Games were his Olympic debut and not only did he give fans a show with what seemed to be rather consistent rides, but at the end of the day he was able to ride away with a silver medal after getting a score of 93.70 in his first round and 93.91 in his second ride. Considering he is the world champion in this event and he was the top qualifier heading into the finals, these scores came as no surprise.
The 93.70 score actually had him in the silver medal position heading into the final ride. And while he did improve on that first round score, it was not enough to take over the lead from Jose Torres Gil of Argentina, who walked away with the gold. But at the same time, it was clear that he rode hard and gave it his all until the very end.
However, there is no denying that silver is still a great result for a first time Olympian, and one who never would have imagined that he would even have a chance at the Olympics. With the BMX events having only been introduced at the last Olympics in Tokyo, this is truly an amazing feat for both Kieran Reilly and team GB. And according to the Team GB news page, Reilly was still quite happy with his second place finish.
Kieran Reilly wins silver at the Paris Olympics in the BMX Freestyle Finals
"It was pretty special. I’ve worked three years just to get here so to end up on the podium is huge. A lot of work comes down to one minute on that course and I feel like I left everything out there.Kieran Reilly
I’d hoped it was (enough for gold) and thought it could have been but that’s BMX, we ride in a subjective sport."
BMX is a lot of fun to watch and seeing it in the Olympics just takes that excitement to the next level. We love getting to see these athletes shine in front of a whole new audience that might fall in love with the sport. And with athletes like Reilly riding their hearts out, we can't help but see a bright future for BMX at the Olympics.
Based on his rides on day 5 of the Olympic Games, we are sure that Kieran Reilly has not only inspired other riders, but we also expect to see him riding for years to come.