Defending champion Beth Shriever was in scintillating form as she advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s BMX racing.
The 25-year-old is a two-time world champion, and showed her pedigree by winning all three of her quarter-finals.
Shriever, Saya Sakakibara of Australia and the USA’s Alise Willoughby were the only three riders to do that to qualify comfortably clear at the top of the standings.
“It couldn’t have gone any better,” Shriever said. “I’m just here to enjoy it and embrace every second so the fact it’s going this well is just a bonus.
“My friends and family are all here, I’m loving every second of it, it’s just really special.
“The crowd are mental. The crowd is absolutely crazy. I expected it, the French love BMX and it’s getting the recognition and the hype that it deserves.”
Reigning Olympic champion Beth Shriever in supreme form en route to the semi-finals of the BMX racing. 🚀#BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/toZk9OXJB9
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 1, 2024
Tokyo silver medallist Kye Whyte revealed he had to deal with a resurgence of a back issue as he made it through in 10th place.
The Peckham native finished in fifth, third and fourth across his three quarter-final heats to secure his place in the semi-finals without going through the last-chance races.
“Practice went really well but for the past seven weeks I’ve been struggling to train and ride my bike due to back issues,” he said. “And the one day they decided to return was tonight.
“I’m in a lot of pain. It’s going down my back and my legs.
“Just tried my hardest to make sure I finished in the top four and qualify for tomorrow.
“The course is very tight and technical. We’ve raced in Paris before and the old course was fast enough on the turns and they didn’t chance the turns.
“But the track is much faster and that makes it difficult in the turns. You could see people diving in and crashing so I just wanted to stay safe and qualify.”
The men’s semi-finals kick off proceedings tomorrow at 19:00 BST with the women’s following 15 minutes later.
The action then concludes with the medal races just over an hour later.
Sportsbeat 2024