How to qualify for BMX Freestyle at Paris 2024. The Olympic qualification system explained
BMX freestyle will make its second appearance at the Olympic Games at Paris 2024, and it promises to be another thrilling competition. The best riders in the world will be aiming to qualify for the Games and fight for a spot on the podium with their vast array of tricks. Find out everything you need to know about the stars to watch and pathway to qualification below.
BMX Freestyle’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 was a thrilling affair, with a fierce competition that wowed the watching world. Now the world’s best riders have their sights set on claiming the sport’s second-ever Olympic gold medals at Paris 2024.
A total of 12 riders per gender will compete in Paris, up from nine per gender at Tokyo 2020.
Among them the reigning Olympic champions Logan Martin (Australia) and Charlotte Worthington (Great Britain) will be looking to retain their crowns, however a new generation of riders are likely to pose a strong threat to them.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about the pathway to Paris 2024 and how riders can qualify for the Games.
How many BMX freestyle riders will compete at Paris 2024?
A total of 24 riders (12 men and 12 women) will compete in BMX freestyle in Paris 2024. France, as the host country, receives one quota place per gender. The other 22 athletes will need to claim their tickets to Paris through the qualification process outlined below.
A maximum of two quotas per gender per NOC can qualify for the Games.
To be eligible to take part in the Paris 2024 BMX freestyle competitions riders must be born on or before 31 December 2009 (at least 15 years or reaching this age in 2024).
Find out more about the criteria for eligibility here (section C).
What is the BMX Freestyle qualification pathway to Paris 2024?
Some quota places are allocated by name (via the Olympic Qualifier Series) and others to NOCs (via the Urban Cycling World Championships in 2022 and the Cycling World Championships in 2023).
A total of 22 quota places (11 per gender) will be on offer from November 2022 to June 2024 - the other two (one per gender) to complete the total of 24 athletes are assigned to the host country.
Three competitions have BMX freestyle quotas on offer, but the order of allocation is not chronological with the list of those qualified not confirmed until 2024. The allocation will follow the following order:
- Olympic qualifier series 2024 - six quotas per gender
- 2022 Urban Cycling Championships - two quotas per gender
- 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships - three quotas per gender
Qualification process
A total number of 12 quotas per gender will be allocated. 11 quotas are allocated based on qualification and performance and the remaining quota place is set aside for the host country.
The first quotas (six per gender) will be first allocated to the highest-ranked athletes (by name) at the Olympic Qualifiers Series (March - June 2024). Once confirmed by the NOC, these quotas will no longer be available.
The remaining five quota places will be allocated via either the 2022 Urban Cycling World Championships or 2023 World Cycling Championships.
In case not all continents are represented following the results of the OQS, the first of the two remaining quota places, per gender, will be retrospectively allocated to the highest ranked NOCs, from a continent not yet qualified, from the 2022 Urban Cycling Championships.
The last three quotas will be allocated via the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, with priority given to any NOC from a continent not qualified, to ensure continental representation.
Once all continents have obtained a quota, the remaining spot(s) will be allocated based on results of the 2022 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships or 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships (in this order) and will be attributed to the highest-ranked NOC(s) who have not yet qualified for the Games, regardless of their continent.
What is the Paris 2024 BMX Freestyle competition format and schedule?
The only Olympic BMX freestyle discipline is park.
Riders are required to perform a series of impressive tricks within a 60-second round and judges will score each round based on the difficult, creativity, execution and height of tricks, with the best riders advancing to the final. In the medal round, the riders with the best runs as scored by judges will make it into the podium.
The venue for BMX freestyle will be La Concorde Urban Park and the entire competition will take place over two days.
Seeding events for women and men will take place on 30 July with the finals the day after on 31 July.
READ MORE: Olympic Games Paris 2024 sports calendar released
READ MORE: Tickets for Paris 2024: what's new
BMX freestyle riders to watch at Paris 2024
Reigning Olympic champions Worthington and Martin will once again be among the favourites for Olympic gold in Paris. However, retaining the Olympic title won't be an easy task.
In the men's category, Venezuela's Daniel Dhers, also known as the 'Godfather of BMX freestyle', is not only aiming for Paris 2024, but also wants to upgrade his silver medal from Tokyo 2020 by winning gold at the next Olympics. He will be 39 years old by the time the competition begins in Paris.
France's Anthony Jeanjean will be aiming for the podium at home soil, while Croatia’s Marin Rantes and the USA’s Nick Bruce and Justin Dowell will be among the favourites.
In the women’s competition, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the same podium as Tokyo 2020, with Hannah Roberts (USA) and Nikita Ducarroz (Switzerland) still proving to be among the best in the world.
But this is a sport of constant innovation and the new generation of riders may well come to the fore in Paris. Colombian twins Queensaray and Lizsurley Villegas have proved to be fan favourites at just 19 years old, while Germany’s 22-year-old Lara Marie Lessmann has been impressive since winning the YOG gold at Buenos Aires 2018.
BMX Freestyle qualification timeline to Paris 2024
- 1 Nov 2022-2 June 2024: BMX freestyle park Olympic Qualification Period
- 9 Nov-13 Nov 2022: 2022 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Abu Dhabi
- 3-13 Aug 2023: 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow and Scotland
- March-June 2024: Olympic Qualifier Series
- 7 June 2024: UCI confirms in writing to the NOCs the quota places obtained
- 21 June 2024: The NOCs confirm to the UCI the use of the allocated quota places
- 26 June 2024: UCI to reallocate all unused quota places
- TBC: The Tripartite Commission to confirm in writing the allocation of Universality places to the NOCs (where applicable)
- 30 June 2024: UCI to reallocate any unused quota places
- 8 July 2024: Paris 2024 Sport Entries Deadline
- 26 July-11 Aug 2024: Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Find out more about the qualification system for other sports that will feature at Paris 2024.