Oceania Cycling Championships 2024: Australia clean sweep BMX freestyle events - medal winners list
Brandon Loupos won the men’s title while Natalya Diehm triumphed in the women’s event. Australia also won two silvers and a bronze in mountain bike championships.
Australia’s Natalya Diehm and Brandon Loupos won the women’s and men’s BMX Freestyle events, respectively, at the Oceania Cycling Championships 2024 in Brisbane on Sunday.
Diehm, who represented Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, scored 92.00 in the final to claim the gold medal for the second time at the championships, having won it at the inaugural edition in 2019.
Diehm outshone two-time defending champion Sarah Nicki, who settled for silver with 89.33 points. Shanae Richmond, with 60.00 points, completed the all-Australian podium.
The men’s event in the Oceania BMX Freestyle Championships also saw a clean sweep by Australia. Loupos, a two-time silver medallist, claimed his first title with a score of 94.67 points. With 90.33 points, Sammy Grace finished second while Jale Toohey completed the podium with 86.67 points.
The Oceania Mountain Bike Championships 2024, held in Brisbane on Saturday, saw Australia win three medals – two silvers and a bronze. New Zealand’s Samara Maxwell won the women’s event while Anton Cooper claimed the men’s title.
Samara Maxwell clocked 1:21:47.88 in six laps to finish 5:37.40 ahead of Australia’s Zoe Cuthbert, who won the silver medal. Australia’s Rebecca Henderson settled for bronze with a timing of 1:28:27.53.
The men’s race saw Cooper clinch his eighth consecutive Oceania title with a timing of 1:22:33.72 over seven laps. Australia’s Sam Fox (1:25:29.71) and New Zealand’s Caleb Bottcher (1:27:48.74) finished second and third, respectively.
Oceania BMX Freestyle Championships 2024 medal winners
Men: Gold: Brandon Loupos (Australia); Silver: Sammy Grace (Australia); Bronze: Jale Toohey (Australia)
Women: Gold: Natalya Diehm (Australia); Silver: Sarah Nicki (Australia); Bronze: Shanae Richmond (Australia)
Oceania Mountain Bike Championships 2024 medal winners
Men: Gold: Anton Cooper (New Zealand); Silver: Sam Fox (Australia); Bronze: Caleb Bottcher (New Zealand)
Women: Gold: Samara Maxwell (New Zealand); Silver: Zoe Cuthbert (Australia); Bronze: Rebecca Henderson (Australia)