BMX, Men

The men’s BMX racing final at Paris 2024 proceeded under favourable weather conditions, and the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron added to the celebratory atmosphere.

This was a landmark event for France, as the host nation achieved a historic podium sweep at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX stadium. Joris Daudet secured gold with a time of 31.422 seconds, followed closely by Sylvain André (31.706) and Romain Mahieu (32.022).

This podium sweep marked a significant turnaround for the French team, who had faced disappointment at Tokyo 2020 where none of the trio reached the podium. For three-time World champion Daudet, the gold medal was particularly meaningful, as it was his first Olympic medal in four appearances.

The race was not without incident. Britain’s Kye Whyte, the silver medalist from Tokyo 2020, suffered a heavy crash during the semifinals and was removed from the track by stretcher, while Australia’s Izaac Kennedy, a strong medal contender, crashed on the first turn, eliminating his chances for a medal.

Missing from the Paris 2024 final were two Tokyo 2020 medalists. Olympic champion Niek Kimmann (NED) failed to qualify for the event, and bronze medalist Carlos Ramírez (COL), also the Rio 2016 bronze medalist, finished 20th in the semifinals and did not advance.