Anthony Jeanjean wins men's BMX Freestyle Park final at OQS Shanghai
The Frenchman's superb first run was good enough to take first place at the Olympic Qualifier Series, ahead of an Olympic and World champion in second and third.
Cycling BMX Freestyle
A storming opening run saw Anthony Jeanjean take first place in the BMX freestyle park men's final at the Olympic Qualifier Series Shanghai on Saturday (18 May).
Big things were expected of the in-form Frenchman, who sealed a World Cup win in Montpellier last week.
Unperturbed by the rising temperatures in the midday sun at another sold-out Huangpu Riverside OQS Urban Park arena, he executed flips, handle bar spins, and tail spins with blistering speed for a first run score of 93.54.
Olympic champion Logan Martin of Australia struggled to find rhythm in the first run, but showing his champion credentials, roared back to life with a score of 92.65 to finish second.
Great Britain's reigning world champion Kieran Reilly, a noticeably more muscle-bound athlete than his rivals, used that power to gain huge air and deep gasps from the crowd on his jumps, for third.
His compatriot Jude Jones, who almost quit the sport in 2021, rode superbly for fourth and deserved the fist bumps from this morning's women's winner Sun Sibei after.
There was a worrying moment for Marcus Christopher, who looked to be on for a big score on his second run before a serious crash resulted in a break in competition while he received medical attention. Thankfully, the US athlete was able to walk away to applause from the crowd.
“I was swerving pretty hard just so I could get my spin for the 720, but my pedal was close to the ground. It ended up hitting (the ground) and it kicked me up," said .
Elsewhere, Venezuelan Olympic silver medallist Daniel Dhers crashed out on his first run, but managed to finish in the top-10 after finding some form on the second.
A total of 46 riders will compete for 12 BMX freestyle quota spots at OQS: six in the women's park event and six in the men's park.
Quotas will be obtained based on a points system. A maximum of 50 points is available in Shanghai, with another 50 at the next event in Budapest.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective teams at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at Paris 2024 depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation. Click here to view the qualification system for each sport.
You can watch the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) in Shanghai from 16 to 19 May live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app for mobile devices.
OQS Shanghai BMX Freestyle men's final - Results
1. Anthony Jeanjean (FRA) - 93.54
2. Logan Martin (AUS) - 92.65
3. Darren David Kieran Reilly (GBR) - 89.28
4. Jude Jones (GBR) - 88.56
5. Marin Rantes (CRO) - 87.84
6. Justin Dowell (USA) - 85.30
7. Nick Bruce (USA) - 84.78
8. Gustavo Batista De Oliveira (BRA) - 84.48
9. Nakamura Rim (JPN) - 84.00
10. Daniel Dhers (VEN) - 78.60