North Carolina BMX rider earns silver medal in Paris Olympics

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An eventful final round of the women’s BMX freestyle competition at the Paris Olympics Wednesday saw five-time world champion Hannah Roberts fail to execute a clean run while China’s Deng Yawen scored a surprise gold medal. 

American rider Perris Benegas saved her best run of the Olympics for her last, scoring a 90.70 in the second round to secure the silver medal. Benegas, who lives in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, also competed in the Tokyo Olympics, where she finished fourth overall. The Reno, Nevada, native got her start riding BMX with her older brother. 

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Roberts, who entered the event as the favorite to win gold, was injured when she crashed into the Czech Republic’s Iveta Miculycova during warmups. Roberts, who lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina, was the last rider in the second round but slipped on her first trick and abandoned the run. 

Roberts, the silver medalist in Tokyo, may have been feeling the effects of a practice crash. Her first run was clean until she fell hard while trying a late front flip. 

The medal round got off to an inauspicious start for Roberts, who was going over a jump during a warmup session when she collided with Czech rider Iveta Miculycova. The American seemed to grab at her right shoulder as she ran immediately off the course, leaving her bike gleaming in the sun on the purple-hued flats.

This year’s competition saw a major shake-up in women’s BMX. Reigning gold medal Charlotte Worthington of Great Britain failed to reach the finals, while the Chinese duo of Deng Yawen and Sun Jiaqi finished second and third in qualifying. It was a huge leap for China after the nation was unrepresented at the Tokyo Olympics. Jiaqi was seventh in the finals after falling during a double tail-whip maneuver. 

In the men’s competition, North Carolina’s Justin Dowell finished seventh overall.  

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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