Women’s BMX Freestyle competition began with Hannah Roberts a favorite to medal after posting the highest qualifying scores the day before. Robert’s medal hopes ended with two falls and unfinished runs. Deng Yawen was the only rider to score two runs in the nineties and her run of 92.60 secured the gold. American Perris Benegas’ clean and smooth second run won her silver while Natalya Diehm captured bronze for Australia.
First Run
Perris Benegas
The two-time Olympian was looking to better her fourth-place finish in Tokyo. The American rider had a clean ride but a lower degree of difficulty than some of her competitors. The run earned an 83.40, which would put her in third before the final three best riders hit the course.
Sun Jiaqi
The Chinese rider crashed hard in the final ten seconds of her race. Until then she had a clean run that featured high air and clean tricks would’ve put her at the top with two riders to go. Sun crashed while attempting a front flip and earned a 70.80.
Deng Yawen
18-year-old Deng qualified in the number two position with two scores in the nineties. Her highlight trick of the run was a triple bar spin. She’s one of the only women competing who can land the trick. She also executed a clean double tail whip and tuck no hander back flip. The judges rewarded her with a 92.50.
Hannah Roberts
After watching the rest of the field compete, the stage was set for the American. Her run was near perfect until the final ten seconds when she attempted a front flip and it ended with a hard slam to the ground. She didn’t have enough speed to complete the rotation. Roberts took some time to get up off the ground and eventually acknowledged the crowd.
Second Run
Natalya Dehm
Unlike her fellow competitors, Dehm chose to attempt a front flip as the first trick of her second run. The gamble paid off and she was the only rider who landed the trick the entire day of competition. Despite the show-stopping move, her first run of 88.80 slightly bested her second of 87.70. She’d have to wait for the remaining runs to see if she’d hold onto the podium.
Benegas
She entered the run in fifth and on a day full of falls, the oldest rider in the competition rode to her strengths instead of maybe trying a trick out of her wheelhouse. She turned it on in the back half of her run and landed clean trick after clean trick and made it look effortless. The one thing that could have kept her off the podium would’ve been a lower degree of difficulty than some of her competitors, however, the judges rewarded her with a 90.70.
Sun
The 20-year-old fell 20 seconds into her second run. She initially looked like she wouldn’t be able to finish the run but pulled it together to end on a high note for the moral victory. Her two falls left her with the 70.80 from her first run, nowhere good enough for the podium.
Deng
Her second run featured many of the same tricks as her first with a gold or silver medal already guaranteed. In her first Olympics she’d post the highest score from qualifications or finals with a 92.60.
Roberts
It’d all come down to her second run for the gold medal favorite and it didn’t last long. On the first trick she had a pedal slip that ended her run. The silver medalist from Tokyo was clearly disappointed, she tossed her bike to the side and didn’t even attempt to finish her run.
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