Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's BMX

The men's BMX racing competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on August 20–22 at the Laoshan BMX Field, the first to be officially featured in the Olympic cycling program.

Men's BMX
at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad
VenueLaoshan BMX Field
DateAugust 20, 2008 (seeding and
quarterfinals)
August 22, 2008 (semifinals and
final)
Competitors32 from 20 nations
Winning time36.190
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Māris Štrombergs  Latvia
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Mike Day  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Donny Robinson  United States
2012 →

Latvia's Māris Štrombergs powered his lead over the eight-strong final squad from the start to grab his nation's first gold medal at the Games. He stormed home on a sprint run to a finish in 36.190, leaving the American duo Mike Day and Donny Robinson behind at 36.606 and 36.972 for the silver and bronze medals respectively.[1][2]

Qualification edit

Thirty-two riders representing twenty countries are qualified for the event. Qualification was based on UCI ranking by nations, 2008 UCI BMX World Championships results and wild-cards reserved to a Tripartite Commission (IOC, ANOC, UCI).[3]

Competition format edit

Each of the 32 men competing performed two runs of the course in individual time trials to determine seeding for the knockout rounds. Then, they were grouped into 4 quarterfinal groups based on that seeding. Each quarterfinal consisted of three runs of the course, using a point-for-place system. The top four cyclists in each quarterfinal (for a total of 16) moved on to the semifinals. The semifinals also used a three-race point-for-place system to determine which cyclists advanced, with the top four in each of the two semifinals moving on to the final. Unlike the previous two rounds, the final consisted of a single race with the first to the finish line claiming the gold medal.[4]

Schedule edit

All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8)[5]

Date Time Round
Wednesday, 20 August 2008 09:00 Seeding
Wednesday, 20 August 2008 11:40 Quarterfinals
Friday, 22 August 2008 09:00 Semifinals and final

Results edit

Seeding edit

Rank Name Time Notes
1   Mike Day (USA) 35.692
2   Māris Štrombergs (LAT) 35.910
3   Damien Godet (FRA) 36.008
4   Artūrs Matisons (LAT) 36.072
5   Raymon van der Biezen (NED) 36.112
6   Sergio Salazar (COL) 36.145
7   Augusto Castro (COL) 36.301
8   Jonathan Suárez (VEN) 36.325
9   Andrés Jiménez (COL) 36.339
10   Manuel de Vecchi (ITA) 36.351
11   Jared Graves (AUS) 36.372
12   Kyle Bennett (USA) 36.421
13   Sifiso Nhlapo (RSA) 36.428
14   Roger Rinderknecht (SUI) 36.466
15   Kamakazi (AUS) 36.492
16   Ivo Lakučs (LAT) 36.509
17   Marc Willers (NZL) 36.519
18   Rob van den Wildenberg (NED) 36.522
19   Thomas Allier (FRA) 36.649
20   Michal Prokop (CZE) 36.689
21   Ramiro Marino (ARG) 36.768
22   Luke Madill (AUS) 36.795
23   Robert de Wilde (NED) 36.803
24   Donny Robinson (USA) 36.810
24   Emilio Falla (ECU) 36.993
26   Scott Erwood (CAN) 37.050
27   Cristian Becerine (ARG) 37.253
28   Liam Phillips (GBR) 37.392
29   Henrik Baltzersen (DEN) 37.635
30   Sebastian Kartfjord (NOR) 38.688
31   Vilmos Radasics (HUN) 38.830
32   Akifumi Sakamoto (JPN) 40.548

Quarterfinals edit

Heat 1 edit

Rank Name 1st run 2nd run 3rd run Total Notes
1   Mike Day (USA) 36.170 (1) 36.080 (1) 36.122 (1) 3 Q
2   Marc Willers (NZL) 47.614 (4) 36.253 (3) 36.278 (2) 9 Q
3   Donny Robinson (USA) 48.906 (6) 36.235 (2) 36.490 (3) 11 Q
4   Andrés Jiménez (COL) 36.619 (2) 36.939 (5) 36.660 (4) 11 Q
5   Jonathan Suárez (VEN) 53.614 (8) 36.481 (4) 36.789 (5) 17
6   Emilio Falla (ECU) 37.080 (3) 37.381 (6) 1:02.877 (8) 17
7   Akifumi Sakamoto (JPN) 48.487 (5) 42.614 (8) 40.046 (6) 19
8   Ivo Lakučs (LAT) 53.300 (7) 39.213 (7) 57.461 (7) 21

Heat 2 edit

Rank Name 1st run 2nd run 3rd run Total Notes
1   Sifiso Nhlapo (RSA) 36.796 (3) 36.325 (2) 36.507 (1) 6 Q
2   Artūrs Matisons (LAT) 35.903 (1) 36.819 (3) 37.037 (2) 6 Q
3   Raymon van der Biezen (NED) 37.205 (4) 35.878 (1) 1:04.709 (5) 10 Q
4   Kyle Bennett (USA) 36.639 (2) 37.146 (4) DNF (8) 14 Q
5   Henrik Baltzersen (DEN) 38.561 (8) 39.083 (5) 38.846 (3) 16
6   Michal Prokop (CZE) 38.535 (7) 41.915 (7) 56.171 (4) 18
7   Liam Phillips (GBR) 37.773 (5) 41.219 (6) 1:27.010 (7) 18
8   Ramiro Marino (ARG) 38.202 (6) DNF (8) 1:16.617 (6) 20

Heat 3 edit

Rank Name 1st run 2nd run 3rd run Total Notes
1   Māris Štrombergs (LAT) 36.762 (1) 35.934 (1) 40.628 (5) 7 Q
2   Rob van den Wildenberg (NED) 37.403 (2) 37.024 (5) 37.176 (1) 8 Q
3   Manuel de Vecchi (ITA) 37.416 (3) 37.284 (6) 37.840 (2) 11 Q
4   Kamakazi (AUS) 42.377 (7) 36.785 (3) 38.463 (3) 13 Q
5   Augusto Castro (COL) 37.609 (4) 36.992 (4) 42.473 (6) 14
6   Vilmos Radasics (HUN) 38.725 (6) 39.220 (8) 39.276 (4) 18
7   Robert de Wilde (NED) 54.105 (8) 36.237 (2) 1:08.185 (8) 18
8   Scott Erwood (CAN) 37.989 (5) 37.653 (7) 50.052 (7) 19

Heat 4 edit

Rank Name 1st run 2nd run 3rd run Total Notes
1   Jared Graves (AUS) 38.067 (1) 36.496 (2) 36.076 (1) 4 Q
2   Cristian Becerine (ARG) 38.399 (2) 42.733 (7) 36.985 (2) 11 Q
3   Roger Rinderknecht (SUI) 54.234 (8) 36.462 (1) 37.136 (3) 12 Q
4   Damien Godet (FRA) 41.241 (3) 40.221 (4) 38.023 (6) 13 Q
5   Sergio Salazar (COL) 54.216 (7) 37.479 (3) 37.573 (5) 15
6   Thomas Allier (FRA) 41.594 (4) 41.043 (5) 38.037 (7) 16
7   Luke Madill (AUS) 51.198 (6) 1:02.432 (8) 37.420 (4) 18
8   Sebastian Kartfjord (NOR) 42.658 (4) 42.625 (6) 38.821 (8) 19

Semifinals edit

Semifinal 1 edit

Rank Name 1st run 2nd run 3rd run Total Notes
1   Mike Day (USA) 36.470 (1) 36.219 (1) 37.461 (3) 5 Q
2   Sifiso Nhlapo (RSA) 37.197 (3) 36.597 (3) 36.457 (2) 8 Q
3   Donny Robinson (USA) 36.832 (2) 36.462 (2) 56.249 (6) 10 Q
4   Andrés Jiménez (COL) 37.363 (4) 36.862 (4) 44.507 (5) 13 Q
5   Raymon van der Biezen (NED) 55.121 (7) 37.258 (6) 36.200 (1) 14
6   Kyle Bennett (USA) 43.518 (5) 37.200 (5) 43.897 (4) 14
7   Artūrs Matisons (LAT) 53.379 (6) 1:17.170 (8) DNF (8) 22
8   Marc Willers (NZL) 1:22.619 (8) 43.256 (7) DNF (8) 23

Semifinal 2 edit

Rank Name 1st run 2nd run 3rd run Total Notes
1   Māris Štrombergs (LAT) 36.485 (1) 35.969 (1) 36.071 (1) 3 Q
2   Rob van den Wildenberg (NED) 37.277 (3) 36.360 (2) 37.496 (4) 9 Q
3   Jared Graves (AUS) 36.904 (2) 39.296 (5) 37.242 (3) 10 Q
4   Damien Godet (FRA) 37.410 (4) 36.707 (4) 37.805 (6) 14 Q
5   Cristian Becerine (ARG) 37.480 (5) DNF (8) 37.079 (2) 15
6   Kamakazi (AUS) 42.551 (7) 41.256 (6) 37.497 (5) 18
7   Roger Rinderknecht (SUI) DNF (8) 36.610 (3) 48.734 (8) 19
8   Manuel de Vecchi (ITA) 38.018 (6) 42.148 (7) 38.208 (7) 20

Final edit

Rank Name Time Notes
    Māris Štrombergs (LAT) 36.190
    Mike Day (USA) 36.606
    Donny Robinson (USA) 36.972
4   Andrés Jiménez (COL) 39.137
5   Rob van den Wildenberg (NED) 39.772
6   Jared Graves (AUS) 2:19.233
7   Sifiso Nhlapo (RSA) DNF
8   Damien Godet (FRA) DNF

References edit

  1. ^ Thompson, Katherine (22 August 2008). "US Grabs BMX Silver, Bronze". Newser. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Strombergs of Latvia wins first-ever Olympic men's BMX gold". Xinhua. China Daily. 22 August 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  3. ^ http://uci.ch/includes/asp/getTarget.asp?type=FILE&id=MzU5MTI[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "BMX Competition Format". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  5. ^ "BMX: Results and Schedules". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.