Latvian Strombergs wins first-ever Olympic men's BMX gold
22/8/2008 17:39
Maris Strombergs, reigning world champion from Latvia, clinched the
first-ever Olympic men's bicycle moto cross (BMX) gold in Beijing
today.
Strombergs took the lead of the eight-strong final from the very
beginning, and finished the run at 36.190 seconds, leaving Mike Day and Donny
Robinson of the United States far behind at 36.606 and 36.972
respectively.
Strombergs won the title of the 2008 BMX world championships
held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, in last May. He is leading a new generation of
European riders challenging the established US Squad.
The world champion was
fastest in the three runs that make up the semifinals to secure the preferred
inside gate start position and notched Latvia's second gold medal of the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games.
"It doesn't matter if it is the Olympics, the world
championships or the European championships, the feeling is the same. I see no
difference between my competitors, whether they come from the United States or
New Zealand," said Strombergs, noting that he kept cool and concentrated for the
whole race.
On his tactics at the final run, the Latvian cyclist said he
didn't come out with a game plan.
"I was just trying to take the gate and
come out first. I just raced my race and it came out for the best."
On the
Beijing Olympics, Strombergs said gratefully that it feels almost like home,
labelling it as "great".
The 21-year-old Latvian has been riding BMX for 16
years, and taken as a veteran despite his age.
"I'm still young. I have plans
for the future, and I have a lot more to accomplish," he said. "This Olympic
gold is only one step in my career."
The defeated US cyclists didn't show
much depression at the press conference.
"We are all blessed to be here, and
we did the best as we could, " said the bronze medalist Donny Robinson, who tops
the International Cycling Union BMX ranking of men's individual. "Everyone out
there had a chance to win the gold."
On the BMX as an extreme sport to be
introduced to the Olympics, Robinson regarded as exactly what needs to
happen.
"It can bring more kids and viewers of the Olympics to the sport,"
said the tiny cyclist who stands at 1.65 meters. "The sport is pretty awesome,
and we could work as role models for kids."
Three-time world champion Kyle
Bennett from the United States who dislocated his shoulder in the quarter-finals
on Wednesday, competed today but failed to make the final.
"I think BMX is on
the more extreme side of things. People don't expect a thing like it in the
Olympics. We're opening the door for more extreme stuff. Paving the way,
progression," said the veteran rider.
Earlier today, Anne-Caroline Chausson
from France won the women's BMX gold, upsetting the Games' favorite Shanaze
Reade from Britain.
The International Olympic Committee on June 29th, 2003,
decided to introduce BMX at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The sport which
rooted in the late 1960s in southern California has brought a wild flair packed
with youthful energy and colorful characters to the Games.
Xinhua
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