How to be friends and rivals, by BMX freestylers Kieran Reilly and Declan Brooks
The British duo navigate a fine line between being close friends and fierce competitors as they vie for Paris 2024 qualification. So how do the Olympic bronze medallist and the prodigious newcomer manage the balance? The pair spoke to Olympics.com.
"What's the worst thing about each other as roommates?"
Such a loaded question might be enough to create a ruckus between pals who are also competitive rivals, but British BMX freestyle riders Kieran Reilly and Declan Brooks take it in the humour intended when talking to Olympics.com at the 2023 European Games in Krakow, Poland in June.
"He's a good roommate," smiled Olympic bronze medallist Brooks about the prodigiously talented Reilly. "I'm probably the worst roommate because I fall asleep first and it annoys him for about an hour. He wants to come over and punch me because I'm snoring too much."
"I'll back him up on that," agreed Reilly, who first came to notice in 2012 as an 11-year-old when he landed a 720 – two full spins in one jump – over a spine at a skatepark in Glasgow, UK.
"We'll both be chilling, we'll finish the last game of Fifa for the night and I know by the time I'm just about settled in bed, he's asleep. And he's quite a snorer as well, so the jealousy gets hard knowing that he's already asleep."
READ: Britain's Kieran Reilly and Czechia's Iveta Miculycova crowned BMX park European champions in Poland
BMX cycling travelling circus
Living in each other's pockets is par for the course on the travel-heavy BMX circuit, in which the pair specialise in freestyle as opposed to racing.
Three events have been completed between Reilly winning gold, and Brooks, bronze on 23 June at the European Games in Krakow, Poland, and their next event, the third round of the UCI World Cup for BMX Freestyle Park in Brussels, Belgium from 6-9 July.
The season started in March, so the events have come thick and fast, but having a buddy on the road offers additional support.
"We basically live together without living together," said Brooks, who turns 27 in July, the same month Reilly turns 22. "It's so good to support someone like that, and to be in a sport like BMX, everyone's kind of rooting for everyone, but especially when we're on Team GB. We're especially rooting for each other."
"It's amazing," agreed Reilly, who wowed the BMX world and beyond when he became the first person to perform a triple kick flair – three full backflips with a 180-degree rotation at the end – previously only seen in a computer game, in January 2022. "I mean, back home we train together, at just about every comp we end up rooming together, we're always travelling together. Dec's pretty much my chauffeur at this point when it comes to airport trips. So, yeah, we're definitely close friends."
So, the pair are good buds, but how does that factor in when both are intensely competitive and potentially battling each other for Paris 2024 places?
READ: Australia's Logan Martin wows with gold in inaugural Olympics men's BMX freestyle final
Paris 2024 dreams
BMX freestyle sees riders perform as many tricks as possible in 60 seconds in an urban park, with the scores based on the difficulty of the tricks, the height of their jumps as well as the creativity and style of the routine.
The sport debuted at Tokyo 2020, with Australian world champion Logan Martin making history as the inaugural men's champion with Venezuela's iconic rider, 36-year-old Daniel Dhers bagging silver, and Brooks, stoked with bronze.
“Being the first male competitor from the United Kingdom to stand on the podium at the Olympic Games is something I will cherish forever,” Brooks said afterwards.
Reilly, meanwhile, is hoping to make his own debut at Paris 2024, describing competing at the Olympics as, "a lifelong goal".
But getting there is the first step for both.
Competition and camaraderie
A maximum of two quota places are available for each nation per gender at Paris 2024, so there is a possibility of Reilly and Brooks both going to France together, if a number of factors align.
"We need a good finish at the World Championships this year to qualify one spot and then we can get one spot next year at the IOC events," said Brooks. "So, yeah, our ultimate goal is to get two of us there. If not, then it's kind of whoever's in form at the time and that'll be the coach's decision."
All the pair can do for the next 12 months until the Games begin is keep performing, keep learning, and keep mentally and physically healthy. Supporting each other, and their Team GB teammates, through the increasingly acute tension as the Games draw near is also par for the course in the community-driven sport.
"We both want to do the best we can, you know what I mean?" said Reilly. "But there's nothing better than – we both want to win – but if I win, I want Dec as close as possible to that. To share the podium this week was just an absolute pleasure, and it was a perfect week for the both of us."
"Yeah, it doesn't happen that often that we can get two from GB on the podium," said Brooks, "So that's always nice." But the rider who has also worked as a stuntman on a number of films and adverts, and also performed at theatrical extravaganza Cirque du Soleil is quick to point out he's keen to "crack" the third-place hoodoo.
Those competitive juices are yet to dim for Brooks, even outside the high-octane pace of the arena, with the pair even going head-to-head celebrating their European Games success.
"Yesterday we went out to play mini golf to celebrate, and even mini golf came along with a bet between me and Dec," smiled Reilly.
Camaraderie combined with matching competitive fire should see the twosome through their friendship and rivalry on the road to Paris 2024, no matter the outcome.