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Paris Olympics Freestyle BMX 2024 - Expert Competition Preview

July 29, 2024 15 min read

The 2024 Paris Olympics are here, and Freestyle BMX is back for its second time on the Olympic Stage.

Freestyle BMX Olympic Schedule - AEST

Tuesday, 30th July

9:20pm - Women's Qualifying

11:00pm - Men's Qualifying

Wednesday, 31st July

9:10pm - Women's Finals

10:45pm - Men's Finals

Watch LIVE on Channel 9 or via the 9 NOW App.

BONUS - If you want to get a "Aussie BMX" version of the commentary, tune into "Back In The Groove" Live on the BackBone BMX YouTube.

Pete from Blue Groove BMX & Tyson from BackBone BMX will be simul-casting with the official broadcast to give their own take on the action.

Like everyone else, we love watching the games, and becoming an armchair expert in every sport. You get some pretty good insights about mainstream sports, but for less-mainstream sports like Freestyle BMX, it’s hard to find any real analysis. Most of the commentators watch this sport once every 4 years, so understandably have limited knowledge about the competitors, their history, sport evolution etc

So, with that in mind, we’ve put together an in depth preview – after chatting with RampFest owner, and part-time coach with the Aus BMX Team, Chris Bierton, our resident BMX Coach Andrew Mini, and some of our good mates over at the Blue Groove BMX & Backbone BMX… Enjoy!

1. Freestyle BMX Competition Format - What’s Different from Last Olympics?

This year, we have more competitors - with 12 athletes in each field (Men’s and Women’s). All 12 will compete in Qualifying on Tuesday 30th July, and the top 9 riders will progress to finals. In Tokyo, there was only 9 riders in total per gender - so qualification was more like a “seeding” round, with no one eliminated. Paris will be more cut-throat - with 3 riders missing out on the Finals.

Like all UCI events, it is broken into 2 rounds (qualifying and finals) and each rider will get 2x 60second runs per round. In Qualifying, your score is the average of both your runs - so BOTH count. In Finals, it’s only your best score that counts - so you get one throw-away run.

For qualifying, riders will go in reverse order of current UCI International Rankings. For the finals, they will run in reverse order from qualifying placings - so the top qualifying athlete goes last (and gets the advantage to see what everyone else is doing).

Now we know what’s going on, let’s have a look at the competitors…

2. Women’s Freestyle BMX – Competitor Preview - Paris Olympics 2024

Perris Benegas (United States of America)

Instagram: @perrisbenegas

Perris had a big performance at the Olympic Qualifying Series (OQS) to secure her spot, and after an ACL injury in the last year, hasn’t competed a lot. She may lack the tricks of the other riders in the field, but her style, power and flow are unmatched around the course – making her one of the best women on a bike in the world.

Recently, she’s been scoring well without the tricks based on her speed and use of the course - so it will be interesting to see how the judges rate her in qualifying. She’s so consistent that she’ll likely cruise through qualifying, but when the other girls start bringing out big tricks in the finals, it will be hard for her to feature in the medals unless she does the same. No doubt she has the skill to do this… but it’s not something we’ve seen from her before.

Sun Jiaqi (China)

OQS Highlights: Budapest Podium Run

Sun Jiaqi was the 2nd highest qualifier through the OQS Series, and with a current ranking for 33rd in the world, was the probably the underdog of the Women’s Chinese BMX juggernaut. But, she did what her more fancied country-women (Sun Sibei) didn’t… which was stay on the bike when it counted! So we know she can handle the pressure.

Expect to see a variety of Flips, Tail-Whips, Can-Can Combos (she does a very stylish 360 Can Can) and big transfers out of Sun - and this course has plenty of spots for her to showcase these tricks. We don’t doubt she’ll be there on finals day and is going to be in serious contention for the Gold.

Queen Saray Villegas Serna (Columbia)

Instagram: @bmx_queensaray

Hailing from Columbia, a country with a rich history in BMX (home to dual Gold Medallist in BMX Racing, Mariana Pajon). Queen Saray is going to come out swinging. She’s got plenty of style over the course and has recently added some big tricks into her runs - like Flip Bar-spins and 360 Bar-spins.

Despite having some big tricks, she doesn’t have the well-rounded bag that some of the other girls do. She’s definitely consistent, placing in the top 10 for both OQS Events, we don’t see her really challenging for the podium here.

Kim Lea Mueller (Germany)

Instagram: @kimlea.mueller

Kim Lea is in her first Olympics, and despite having a pretty average OQS Series (finishing in 12th overall), she got the start, ahead of her country-women and Tokyo Olympian, Lara Lessman (who actually finished 8th in OQS). Mueller was picked because of her massive potential. We’ve seen plenty of Kim training in Aus recently, and she’s got some serious skills - she even rode in the Aus Nationals and came 3rd!

Kim can 360 Tailwhip, Super-Indy, and has some dialled 360 combos - all the tricks you need for a podium result. The big question is going to be whether she can land a full run with all those big tricks. She’ll need to really up her consistency in qualifying to land both runs, but if she makes it through, we’d say Kim is a bit of a dark-horse for a podium spot.

Iveta Miculycova (Czech Republic)

Instagram: @ivet.016

We haven’t seen a lot of Iveta, but we know she won the European Championships and came 6th in the first OQS Event, pulling out of the 2nd due to injury, which seems to be all good now.

She has a very unique style - and will be bringing some very original tricks to the contest, like cannonballs, cliff hangers and more. The judges have been rewarding her individual style which definitely stands out against the other girls. We can’t wait to watch her run, and like Kim, she is a bit of a dark-horse who could definitely shake things up.

Nikita Ducarroz (Switzerland)

Instagram: @nikita.ducarroz

Nikita is the Bronze Medallist from Tokyo and an extremely well-rounded bike rider. She has great speed and style across the course, and a good mix of flips, spins and combos.

She finished top 6 in both OQS Events - proving her consistency - and she knows how to handle the big stage. We haven’t seen her really bring out any new tricks for a while, but she could very well be saving something special to try and get back on that podium. We expect her to cruise through qualifying, and put down a solid first finals run. After that - she may have something new to up the ante.

Natalya Diehm (Australia)

Instagram: @_natalyadiehm

Natalya Diehm qualified for her 2nd Olympics after consistent performances in the Qualifying Events. She came 5th in Tokyo, despite having blown out her ACL just weeks earlier. Nat has come back from 5x knee surgeries, so we know she is as tough as they come.

The last 12 months have been great for her, securing another Aus National Champ title in Feb at RampFest, and recording consistent top 6-7 results. She’s riding better than ever. She’s going higher, attacking the course with more power, while bringing out some new tricks in competition - like consistent flairs, down whips and a couple of 360 variations - adding to her existing repertoire of Flips, Tail-whips and Tuck-No-Handers

The Paris course suits Nat - it’s got plenty of boxes, left and right hip options, and big spines - she has every opportunity to bring out her full arsenal of tricks. Her regular tricks that got her here through qualifying probably won’t be enough for a podium… but we know she’s been sitting on a few big tricks for a while that she is yet to show the world. Will she bring them out in Paris? We think she will - this is the event she’s been working towards. Her consistency should see her comfortably through qualifying, and in the finals, keep an eye out for her to put down a solid first run before really letting loose in her 2nd.

Watch Natalya's Best Scoring Run from Tokyo - 5th Place

Charlotte Worthington (Great Britain)

Instagram: @chazworther

Charlotte is the defending Olympic Champ after stunning the BMX world with her run in Tokyo. To say that run was a “Hail-Mary” is an understatement - she went for broke, crashed her first run before pulling it all together for a score of 97. Can she do it again?

Her recent form suggests this is unlikely… Charlotte has had a quiet few years since Tokyo, she took a short break from the sport, but came back and did just enough to secure her spot from compatriot Sasha Pardoe. In recent events, she hasn’t really shown any of the big tricks that won her the last games… but then she didn’t really do that before Tokyo either. So really, who knows.

Watch Charlottes winning run from Tokyo

Laury Perez (France)

Instagram: @lauryperezbmx

The Frenchwomen will obviously be the crowd favourite, and after recently winning Fise Montpellier, we know she can lift for the locals.

Her riding has progressed rapidly, and we can expect plenty of bar-spin combos, 360s and whips from her. However, she had a disappointing OQS Series, when the competition was tough, she couldn’t quite pull it all together.. We don’t expect her to really threaten the podium here, but the Olympics can do funny things to home-town athletes…

Macarena Perez-Grasset (Chile)

Instagram: @macapgrasset

Chile initially didn’t qualify a spot! However, after Switzerland elected to only send one rider, Macarena was in, and the contest will be better for it.

She’s a rider much like Perris - with a lot of speed, flow and style - and is currently ranked 4th in the world. She recently stood on a World Cup podium in February, so we know she has form. She’ll need to significantly increase the difficulty of her tricks to be there in this event though. We expect to see her in the final, but don’t think she will be able to threaten the podium if the other girls land their runs.

Deng Yawen (China)

Instagram: @deng.ya.wen

Another part of the Women’s Chinese BMX juggernaut, Deng was 3rd & 4th in the OQS Events, and won a World Cup stop late last year.

Deng is an absolute wizard with bar-spins - and you can expect to see a lot of them in her run - along with plenty of other big tricks like flips & tail-whips. She also loves a transfer - so expect that to feature prominently in runs.

We expect Deng to be a serious gold-medal contender here.

Hannah Roberts (United States of America)

Instagram: @hannah_roberts_bmx

Hannah Roberts is the undisputed favourite in this contest - and has won more Women’s BMX contests than anyone in history. A multiple world-champion & World Cup winner, plus the silver medallist from Tokyo. Hannah can spin, flip, whip, bar-spin, do heaps of combos… basically every trick in women BMX right now. How can she lose?

Well…. Hannah was also the undisputed favourite in Tokyo, and had a chance to get the gold in her final run, but seemed to buckle after the unexpected run from Charlotte. This time, we know the competition is even stiffer with the rise of China and the rapid improvement of the other female competitors.

Hannah Roberts seems destined to win an Olympic Gold Medal, but she has to put it together when it counts and be ready to dig deep into her bag of tricks. We’d be shocked if she wasn’t on the podium, and she’ll be so hungry for the gold. But will she stand up in Paris?

3. Final Predictions for Women’s Freestyle BMX

Based on recent form, we have the following predictions:

Gold Medal: A 3-way battle between Hannah Roberts, Dang Yawen and Sun Jiaqi. But, it’s so easy for them to slip a pedal.

Serious Podium Contenders: Nikita Ducarroz, Natalya Diehm & Perris Benegas.

Dark Horse Contenders: Kim Lea Mueller & Iveta Miculycova

4. Men’s Freestyle BMX Field - Paris Olympics 2024

Vincent Leygonie (Republic of South Africa)

Instagram: @vinl55

We haven’t seen a lot of Vincent on the international circuit, in the OQS events, he placed last on points, and he is currently ranked 118th. So how did he get here? Well, part of qualification for the Olympics is that every Continent gets a spot for their highest ranked athlete. Fair play to him – he’s got the chance to represent his country at the Olympics!

He’s got a pretty cool riding style, but honestly, we would be shocked if he made it out of qualification. He simply isn’t on the same level as the other riders in this field.

Jeffrey Whaley (Canada)

Instagram: @jeffreywhaley

Jeffrey secured a maiden spot for Canada with a great result at the last World Champs, but since then, it’s been a rough ride for him. He’s struggled with injury and only recently had to undergo surgery. Getting healthy enough to get to the games is a great achievement in itself – he’s also one of the best blokes in BMX, so special shout out to him for that.

We really have no idea what kind of form he will be in at this event with such limited riding in the lead up – so we don’t really expect him to be in medal contention. Given the depth of this field, it will be tough for him to get past the qualifying stage.

Ernests Zebolds (Latvia)

Instagram: @ernestszeboldsbmx

Ernest placed 12th & 13th in the OQS Events and qualified based on recent World Champs results. He brings a super unique style to the course, and plenty of combos in his riding. We can expect to see some very different tricks out of him – and probably more turndowns in a run than the rest of the field combined.

But, we don’t think he really has the big tricks to threaten the podium or the finals at this comp.

Justin Dowell (United States of America)

Instagram: @justindowell_bmx

Justin is in his 2nd Olympics and will be looking to improve on his 8th place result from Tokyo. Justin is a former world champ, and placed 5th & 6th in the OQS so he certainly has a resume that says he will be a contender.

Justin always fully packs his runs and has plenty of unique tricks –his signature is the “Twix” (bar-spin tailwhip), he is still the only person doing that trick in the field. He also is likely to bring out a few triple-bar-spin flip/spin combos.

We’d expect Justin to get through to the finals pretty comfortably, but unlikely to be a podium contender. We just don’t think he has the big tricks and height to compete with the top guys.

Jose Torres Gil (Argentina)

Instagram: @malignobmx

Jose has come a long way in the last couple of years – he has always had big tricks and great style, but it’s his consistency that has improved dramatically. His results in the OQS weren’t great, but he earned his spot through the World Champs.

Jose is known for doing some of the biggest airs in the field – and we have no doubt we’ll see that on this course. He’s got a great variety of spins, whips and flip tricks – and isn’t afraid of doing big transfers. However, we haven’t really seen him execute the biggest moves consistently in contests.

We expect him to get through qualifying comfortably, but given the quality of this field, he is a very outside chance of a podium.

Marcus Christopher (United States of America)

Instagram: @marcus_christopher_bikes

Marcus Christopher has exploded onto the international scene since the last Olympics and is known for his aggressive riding style – he attacks the course at full pace and it’s bloody impressive when it works.. Marcus earned his spot through the OQS Events, despite having one of the heaviest crashes in the first contest (writing about it even hurts!). We know he’s a very tough competitor.

He can do a 360 Quad Down Whip, a Flair Double Down Whip and Flip Bar to Whip – just to name a few of his signature moves. Plus all the usual 720s, flip & flair combos.

While he doesn’t have the resume of recent results that some of the others do, we think Marcus is a serious contender for Gold in Paris. He’s been improving so rapidly, and with his large range of tricks, if he sticks a full run, he might just make it.

Gustavo Batista de Oliveira (Brazil)

Instagram: @gustavo_balaloka

Gustavo has been another recent emerging talent on the BMX Scene. Out of Brazil, he qualified his spot through the OQS events, where he took a lot of people by surprise with his new tricks and consistency.

He probably has the fastest bar-spins in the game right now and doesn’t mind catching them backwards – keep an eye out for him doing a bunch of tricks with his bars around the wrong way to earn some extra style points. He can also absolutely blast a quarter – and will go just as high as anyone in the contest.

While we expect him to get through the qualifying stages easily, we think he is, at best, a dark-horse for the podium. From what we’ve seen, he doesn’t have the big tricks to beat the top ranked riders when they put down a full run.

Rimu Nakamura (Japan)

Instagram: @rimbmx

Rim is also in his 2nd Olympics, and will be looking to improve on his Tokyo results. Rim qualified for Paris as a previous world-champion. While he didn’t have the best results at the OQS, you can expect to see Rim mix up his runs with unique spin combos (like a 720 tyre-grab-can), big flip triple combos, and plenty of high airs.

We can’t imagine Rim won’t make it through qualifying, and despite his recent results, we’d still have him as a podium contender based on his all-round skill set and ability.

Marin Rantes (Croatia)

Instagram: @marinrantes

Marin has made it to his first Olympics through the OQS Series after narrowly missing out on Tokyo. Rantes is one of the more experienced riders in the field, he’s been on the international scene for a long time so isn’t likely to be overawed by anything. He is currently ranked 5th in the world and with some recent 4th & 5th place world cup finishes, he’s a very solid competitor.

Expect to see a lot of tail whip combos from Marin – he throws them so fast and clean in a bunch of different combos.

Much like Rim, we’d be shocked if he didn’t make it through the qualifying rounds and is going to be in medal contention come finals.

Logan Martin (Australia)

Instagram: @loganmartinbmx

Logan wrote himself into history by winning the first Olympics in Tokyo – but what made the win even more impressive was that he basically did it in 3rd gear… with his safety run! Logan has been a dominant force on the international scene for almost a decade – winning multiple world championships and world cups with an insane level of consistency. He rarely misses a podium.

But the rest of the field have been catching up – and at the last OQS event, Logan suffered a very uncharacteristic fall in qualifying – missing the finals for the first time in who-knows how long. Is this a sign that he is falling off the pace… or is it just the loss he needed to fire him up? We’re betting it’s the latter – Logan is a born competitor and he’ll be stinging to remind everyone why he is one of the GOAT’s of BMX.

Logan can basically do every trick in the sport – and do it cleaner than most people can ride down the street. Expect to see Triple Whips both ways, 720 Combos, Flip Combos, Big Transfers and plenty more. We know Logan has a whole stack of tricks he’s never used in competition… and as much as we’d love another win like Tokyo, we also want to see him really dig into that bag and put down his ultimate run (which is going to be very hard to beat).

Logan is a serious contender for GOLD and is hungry to defend his title.

Watch Logan's Winning Run from Tokyo

Kieran Reilly (Great Britain)

Instagram: @kieranbmxreilly

Kieran Reilly is the current world champion and finished top 6 in the OQS – so was never going to miss out on an Olympic start. This is his first Olympics, but Team GB tasted the podium in men’s (and women’s) in Tokyo with Declan Brooks getting bronze. With Jamie Bestwick as his coach, there will be plenty of knowledge in the camp to support him.

Kieran is currently ranked 2nd in the world, and you can expect to see whips and spins all day long. Some of his biggest tricks are the 720 Whip, Triple Whips, Flair Whips and of course, he’s one of only 2x riders who have done a double-flair in competition.

He’ll make it comfortably through qualifying and will be looking to really unleash in the final. We’ve got Kieran as a serious podium contender – and he will certainly be in the hunt for the gold.

Anthony JeanJean (France)

Instagram: @anthonyjeanjeanbmx

Anthony has had a massive year so far – winning the Fise World Cup in Montpellier, plus the 2x OQS Events. He’s going to be the crowd favourite for sure, and with his recent form, he’ll probably be the favourite in general.

Anthony has a very similar riding style to Logan – fast, clean, plenty of big transfers, and a huge bag of tricks. He is the only other rider to do a double flair in competition, and has another unique trick in the flip double whip to bar-spin. This course will give him every opportunity to put on a show, and we know he isn’t going to hold back at home.

JeanJean will be in the final and he is going to have a red-hot chance at the gold medal. He’s coming in as the man to beat and everyone else is going to be chasing him. Will he buckle under the home town pressure, or rise to the occasion?

5. Final Predictions for Men’s Freestyle BMX