First-time Olympians from Argentina and China took gold in the BMX Freestyle finals as a string of dramatic crashes knocked out the reigning medallists under a baking-hot Paris sun.
In his first Olympic games, Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil, 29, shot off the ramp in his first run, flying higher and gyrating faster than all competitors, his 94.82 score remaining at the top of the scoreboard throughout the event on Wednesday.
“So much feeling, it’s hard to explain. I am trying to endure the moment and not cry because I am a person who doesn’t like to show his feelings too much,” Torres Gil told reporters.
China’s Deng Yawen, 18, also a first-time Olympian, won the women’s gold medal, the result of a decade-old drive by China to boost its medals count in sports the communist country has not previously dominated.
The jury awarded Deng’s first run a score of 92.60 for a series of high-flying tricks, including her trademark “double tailwhip”, during which she kicks her legs back and forth as if cycling in the air while her bike spins around underneath her.
