Paris 2024 Cycling: France achieves clean sweep in men's BMX racing - Daudet wins gold, Andre silver, Mahieu bronze
France went one-two-three in men’s BMX racing with Joris Daudet crossing the finish line first to take gold with a time of 31.422, followed by Sylvain Andre in silver at 31.706 and Romain Mahieu to earn bronze in 32.022, in an absolute dream podium for the host nation on Friday, 2 August at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
The French trio took the lead from the start in front of an electric home crowd at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines BMX stadium. Australia’s Izaac Kennedy was among the pack, but he went down in a crash on the first turn. After that, Daudet and Andre were out of reach out front. Switzerland’s Cedric Butti was gaining on Mahieu, but was unable to overtake him at the finish line to finish fourth.
French President Emmanuel Macron was in the audience, surrounded by French flags and cheering fans. Celebrations broke out following the historic podium sweep, with the crowd singing in unison. This marks the first all-French podium in a hundred years, since the Olympics were last held here in Paris in 1924.
Olympics.com spoke with Daudet following his victory. He said that the there was no unified French strategy to sweep the podium, saying: “It’s an individual sport and we all wanted to win. But it turned out that we were able to do our race and make it happen. So that’s cool.”
Responding to a question about what it feels like to make Olympic history, Daudet added: "It’s an amazing night and being able to do that with my friends, that’s an unreal feeling. It’s amazing to be able to write history and to put BMX on top.”
Daudet also shared his appreciation for the roaring crowd, saying: “They were amazing, they helped us a lot yesterday and today. Being able to perform in front of them and deliver when it comes time is the most important thing.”
Macron congratulated the racers at the finish line, which did not go unnoticed by Daudet, admitting: “To have him watch a race and have all important people in France come here and watch our small sport, it’s amazing.”
Silver medallist Andre was aware of the possibility of sweeping the podium ahead of the final, saying: “To achieve first, second and third, we knew that it was possible, that there was a slim chance, and we all wanted to win the race. I’m glad that we did, and not the others.”
The bronze medallist, Maheur, also speaking to Olympics.com, said of today’s historic win: “I hope it helps the sport to grow. At least in France, people can talk about BMX a bit more and see kids racing and maybe we can inspire them.”
Maheur was still celebrating at the finish line when, minutes after he won bronze, his partner Saya Sakakibara of Australia crossed the line to win gold. He said: “I didn't even have time to realize what I did. And she went and she won gold!”
BMX racing: Men’s podium
Gold: Joris Daudet, France
Silver: Sylvain Andre, France
Bronze: Romain Mahieu, France
See all the results on Olympics.com