Netherlands' Niek Kimmann rides to glorious gold in men's BMX racing
The Dutch rider wins the race in 39.053 ahead of Team GB's Kye Whyte (silver) and Carlos Ramirez Yepes (bronze).
Cycling BMX Racing
In a thrilling men's BMX racing final at Ariake Urban Sports Park, Netherlands' Niek Kimmann stormed to victory in a time of 39.053. The Dutch rider held off the challenge of Great Britain's Kye Whyte, who won silver, with Carlos Ramirez Yepes of Colombia finishing third.
After a dramatic semi-final, where world number one, Sylvain Andre and Rio 2016 champion Connor Fields both crashed in run three -with Fields stretchered away and unable to take part in the final - Kimmann took control from the start, surging ahead with Whyte in hot pursuit.
However, despite Whyte coming wheel-to-wheel with the Dutch rider at the line, Kimmann held strong to win an impressive gold medal.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Kimmann's victory is the fact that he competed in the final with a fractured knee, after crashing into a steward during a training run. However, he recovered from the accident in time to win the final - and with it the Olympic gold medal.
After the race, Kimmann talked about the injury that threatened to derail his quest for the gold medal, saying: “The last weeks I’ve felt in the best shape ever," he said. "Of course there was a lot of pressure, but I was confident. And then I hit that official (on Monday) and I felt like my dream was over. But luckily with painkillers that dream was still alive. I just kept believing.
“Like I said, I felt so good in the last weeks, I thought that painkillers and my adrenaline would do the job, and they did.”
And when asked about realising his Olympic dreams the Dutch athlete spoke about the pride he felt for himself and his country: “I still don’t believe I have it. I’m from the Netherlands," he said. "It’s a small country. But I know other friends who have won gold medals, so I always felt like I was the one missing it.
“Last Olympics my friend Jelle (von GORKOM) got silver, but then he got in an accident, and unfortunately he can’t compete in BMX anymore. We’ve always needed to bring a gold medal to the Netherlands. We had a silver, and we’ve had a bronze, and now we’ve got a gold.”