Australian Olympic BMX Team History.

Despite only having won just one Olympic medal in BMX racing Australia has always had strong representation at the Olympics dating back to the sport’s debut in Beijing in 2008.

2008 Beijing

BMX racing made it’s debut appearance at the Olympics as a medal sport. A significant historic moment for our sport as 32 male and 16 female riders battled for Olympic gold for the first time.

Jared Graves made a successful switch from downhill mountain biking to qualify not only for the Australian Olympic team but the final at the main event. His sixth place finish isn’t a true indicator of his success at the event. Jared fell in the second corner while battling for third place.

Kamakazi really made a name for himself with the media and finished sixth place in his semi final.

Luke Madill was eliminated early with a puncture and a crash in qualifying.

Nicole Callisto qualified through to the final where she crashed out in the first corner and placed out of medal contention finishing in sixth.

Tanya Bailey had a bad day at the office placing 8-8-6 in her (three moto) semi.

Anne-Caroline Chausson (France) won the first Olympic gold medal for BMX. Maris Strombergs (Latvia) won the first Men’s Olympic gold medal.

Men’s Final video: https://youtu.be/Hn1V3HIsuPk
Women’s Final video: https://youtu.be/qGeBp34Etxw

2012 London

For the second straight Olympics Australia qualified with a full compliment of 3 men and 2 women in a field of 32 men and 16 women.

Sam Willoughby, too young to contest the 2008 Olympics, was one of the favourites for the Olympic Gold. He qualified for the final and won Australia’s first and only Olympic Medal to date taking the Silver.

Khalen Young was fast but was struggling with injuries at London only able to progress as far as the semi finals.

Brian Kirkham had a bad start to his Olympic campaign, although he managed to pull it together with a first and a second in his last heats, he didn’t make it out of the “Quarter finals”.

Caroline Buchanan made her first Olympic appearance at London and kicked off her campaign with the fastest seeding run and top qualifier in her semi. Her final didn’t go to script though, she appeared to miss her gate and, to her credit, she clawed her way from the back of the field to finish with a fifth place.

Lauren Reynolds also was competing at her first Olympics. A big crash in the first straight in her third heat of the semi final kept her out of the final.

It’s worth noting that Anthony Dean was a reserve at the 2012 Olympics, he got to practice with the team but wasn’t required to compete.

Mariana Pajon (Columbia) won her first Olympic gold medal for BMX. Maris Strombergs (Latvia) won his second Men’s Olympic gold medal.

Athlete	Event	Seeding		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Result	Rank
Brian Kirkham	Men’s BMX	39.610	22	25	7	Did not advance
Sam Willoughby		38.496	6	16	3 q	5	1 Q	37.929
Khalen Young		39.304	17	19	4 q	25	8	Did not advance
Caroline Buchanan	Women’s BMX	38.434	1	N/A		4	1 Q	38.903	5
Lauren Reynolds		40.045	9	N/A		19	8	Did not advance

Men’s Final video: https://youtu.be/_PD6pFByqjs
Women’s Final video: https://youtu.be/a8DYqIS1ya8

2016 Rio

Once again Australia were dominant in the country qualifying and for the third straight Olympics Australia qualified with a full compliment of 3 men and 2 women in a field of 32 men and 16 women.

Sam Willoughby returned for his second Olympic berth. He posted a respectable third fastest time in the seeding. From there he dominated the racing, he went on to win all three of his quarter final heats, all three of his semi final heats, but in the final Willoughby appeared to come up short on a jump on the first straight washing off speed and wasn’t able to make up ground, he went on to finish in sixth place.

Anthony Dean was equally as impressive as Sam. After a second in his first moto he went on to win the remaining two of his quarter final heats, and then all three of his semi final heats. Anthony was squeezed out down the first straight and couldn’t make his way back into the pointy end, he finished in eighth place.

Bodi Turner made his first appearance at the Olympics, he showed good signs early, finishing the seeding with a thirteenth place, with a 6-8-4 in his heats though he was eliminated in the quarter finals.

Caroline Buchanan kicked her second Olympic campaign off with a bang, qualifying in second place in the seeding. She followed that up with a win in her first heat, but a fourth and a crash, where she finished eighth, BMX proved itself a cruel sport as she was eliminated in her semi.

Lauren Reynolds was consistent but crashed in her second heat and was also eliminated. She was in the same semi final as Caroline.

Mariana Pajon (Columbia) won her second Olympic gold medal for BMX. Connor Fields (USA) won his First Men’s Olympic gold medal and the first Gold Medal in BMX for the USA.

Men’s Final video: https://youtu.be/J9YVMJTU6Pg
Women’s Final video: https://youtu.be/EAtm2Z7j1Vg

2021 Tokyo

2021 looks different for BMX racing at the Olympics. The classes have been evened up, there are now 24 men and 24 women. Out of a potential six athletes attending for the country Australia were only able to qualify one male and two female positions, this is an indication of just how well other countries have stepped up their Olympic programs.

Anthony Dean competed at his second Olympic games but the fairytale would turn into a nightmare for him. In his first quarterfinal heat he hit the back end of Connor Fields along the second straight and hit the ground hard. Although he looked strong he didn’t appear to catch his rhythm after the crash and was eliminated in the first round.

Lauren Reynolds, competing at her third Olympics qualified through the quarter finals comfortably. Lauren got caught up in the first corner in her first semi final moto and crashed. She gathered herself and qualified into the final. Although she didn’t podium, she did equal Australia’s best performance in the Womens class in BMX racing with a 5th place.

Saya Sakakibara made her Olympic debut. After a collision and a near crash in the third straight in her first round of the semis Lauren couldn’t stay on the track. She pulled it together and qualified out of the Quarters. Her semi final looked good until a mid air collision on the second last straight took Saya out of competition and she had to be assisted off the track.

Men’s Final video: https://youtu.be/2RlLmK5WM_s
Women’s Final video: https://youtu.be/GvG-L0ZahsA

2024 Paris

The Paris Australian team looks very similar to the  team in Tokyo. Lauren Reynolds will return for her fourth Olympics, Saya returning for her second and Izaac Kennedy making his Olympic debut.

Saya and Izaac enter the Olympics as the current World Cup champions which should carry some weight in the confidence stakes. We’ve always said that Lauren ages like a fine wine and the veteran’s results continue to improve.

Once again Australia is well represented by these highly competitive athletes. We wish them all luck for their Olympic journey we are sure you will make Australia very proud.