Kieran Reilly delivered two stunning runs to claim men’s BMX Freestyle silver on his Olympic debut.
The Gateshead rider went into the final as the top qualifier and the world champion and sat in second after the first round with a score of 93.70.
He improved his score in the second round to make certain of silver, finishing just behind Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil.
In the first round, other riders faltered with defending champion Logan Martin of Australia failing to deliver two clean runs at the Place de la Concorde in the centre of Paris.
Also falling was the home hope of Anthony Jeanjean who was bottom of the nine finalists after the first run.
The Frenchman bounced back to surge into second, moving Reilly down to third, but with no one else moving up, Reilly knew he had a medal in the bag as he embarked on his final run.
It allowed the 23-year-old the opportunity to go big and go big he did, producing a bike drop at the end of his run as he fell to his knees in tears, having given everything.
Just ridiculous from GB's Kieran Reilly 🔥
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 31, 2024
His first run in the BMX freestyle final is a stunning one! #BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/uXk4wXOlGh
The European Games champion faced a nervy wait to see if he had moved any higher up the standings with the scoreboard finally showing he had improved on his first-round score, posting 93.91, 0.91 points behind the victor Torres Gil.
His medal ensures that Team GB are the only nation to have medalled in the men’s BMX Freestyle both times it has been held at the Olympics as Reilly follows Declan Brooks who won bronze in Tokyo.
Some skills!
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 31, 2024
Kieran Reilly's second run was enough for a silver medal for Team GB in the BMX freestyle. #BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/1p7Z2OmPGS
With BMX Freestyle only being incorporated into the Games three years ago, dreams of being an Olympic champion were non-existent for a young Reilly.
But now he hopes his success, alongside Brooks' and Tokyo champion Charlotte Worthington, allows youngsters to dream big now.
He said: "When I started BMX, it wasn’t even a dream of mine to go to the Games.
"Knowing that kids now might see more of a career in this sport, and that parents might take their kids to a BMX club rather than a Saturday football team, that’s amazing.
"We’re going to grow the sport and I hope this shows kids that you don’t have to be from somewhere with the best skatepark in the world.
"You can make it work. The hard work will pay off, and if you’re someone who loves riding their bike, that’s not hard work."