Marcus Christopher (born December 31, 2002) is an American professional freestyle BMX rider. He represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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| Born | December 31, 2002 Hartville, Ohio US | |||||||||||||||||
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| Discipline | Freestyle BMX | |||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editChristopher was born to Matt and Lori Christopher, and has a younger brother, Charlie. He attended Lake High School in Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio. He turned pro in 2016 at age 13.[1]
Career
editChristopher made his X Games debut at 16 years old in 2019. In May 2023, he won a bronze medal in BMX park in Japan.[2] In July 2023, during the Summer X Games in California he suffered a broken jaw and cheekbone when he overshot his landing spot on a transfer and crashed face-first to the ground. He underwent surgery and had his jaw wired shut for two weeks.[3] In June 2024, he competed at the 2024 Summer X Games in Ventura, California and won a gold medal in BMX park with a score of 95.66, finishing nearly five points ahead of silver medal winner Kevin Peraza.[4][5][6]
In December 2023, Christopher was selected to compete in the 2024 Olympic Qualifier Series.[7] During the second leg of the qualifier series in Budapest, he finished in second place with a score of 92.98.[8] As a result, he qualified to represent United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics where he was the youngest competitor in the field.[9][10] During the men's BMX freestyle event he finished in fourth place with a score of 93.11, just behind France's Anthony Jeanjean score of 93.76.[11]
References
edit- ^ Harris, Andy (December 23, 2016). "Lake eighth-grader turns pro in BMX freestyle". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Marcus Christopher". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Weir, Josh (July 25, 2023). "BMX pro Marcus Christopher of Lake recovering after frightening fall at X Games California". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Olympic BMX and Skateboard Preview & Coverage". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Men's BMX Park Final on the SONIC Park Course". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Balint, Ed (July 3, 2024). "The comeback kid: Lake High School grad Marcus Christopher makes Olympics in BMX freestyle". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Lake grad Marcus Christopher selected for IOC's Olympic Qualifier Series in BMX Freestyle". The Repository. December 20, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ "Marcus Christopher – USA – qualified second". Olympics.com. June 22, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Palermo, Angelina (July 11, 2024). "USA Cycling Names 23 Athletes to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team". usacycling.org. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Bielik, Tim (July 25, 2024). "Which Northeast Ohio athletes will be competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics?". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
- ^ Haidet, Ryan (July 31, 2024). "Marcus Christopher of Canton narrowly misses medal after finishing 4th in BMX freestyle finals at 2024 Paris Olympics". WKYC. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
External links
edit- Marcus Christopher at Team USA
- Marcus Christopher at the X Games