TThree years ago, Hannah Roberts, already the best freestyle BMX rider of her generation before her 20th birthday, entered the women’s park competition at the Tokyo Olympics as the overwhelming favorite, having won the entire World Cup schedule in addition to the past two world championships. After qualifying first for the final, her opening run score at the Ariake Urban Sports Park was almost seven points better than anyone else in the field. But when Britain’s Charlotte Worthington put in the ride of her life to secure gold medal position, Roberts took home silver after landing hard on an early jump and abandoning the rest of her final run. She would later admit that she had been competing the entire time with a taped broken foot.
Now 22 and still a dominant force in her sport, and with three more world titles to her name, Roberts has spoken at length about how that disappointment has motivated her, propelling her through countless six-hour training days on the bike or in the gym when she’s not seeking sponsors to pay the bills. All signs pointed to a redeeming gold at these Paris Olympics even before competition opened in Tuesday’s qualifying round, in which Roberts again swept all the qualifying rounds, while reigning champion Worthington and Tokyo bronze medalist Nikita Ducarroz failed to reach the final.
But it didn’t take long for the five-time world champion’s Olympic dream to turn into a nightmare on another sultry afternoon in central Paris. Minutes before Wednesday’s final even got underway, Roberts collided with Czech rider Iveta Miculyčová as she went over a hurdle during warm-up and sprinted straight to the medical tent while pointing to her right shoulder. Her day only went downhill from there in front of a packed crowd of around 4,000 spectators at the temporary open-air stadium on the Place de La Concorde.
Roberts crashed on a frontflip at the end of her first run and planted her foot on the opening jump of her second, forcing her to forfeit both rides and finish a shocking eighth out of nine finalists. Deng Wayen of China took gold with the highest score of a pair of nearly flawless runs, each one a remarkable display of speed, amplitude, height, flow and variety that took full advantage of the sprawling city park. American Perris Benegas, Roberts’ less-heralded teammate, took silver with a clutch final ride. Natalya Diehm of Australia held on for bronze, beating out Queen Saray Villegas Serna of Colombia by eight-tenths of a point.
“It was just really tough mentally, I put a lot of pressure on myself,” said Roberts, who was born in South Bend, Indiana, but grew up in Buchanan, Michigan. “A lot of things can go wrong in a short period of time and today just wasn’t my day.”
BMX freestyle took a huge step toward legitimacy in 2016, when it came under the umbrella of the Union Cycliste International (UCI) and a World Cup circuit was created to provide a competitive platform for top riders. Of the six world championships held since the discipline’s debut in 2017, Roberts has won five.
The only other winner during that period was Benegas, who took the world title in 2018. The 29-year-old was unsure whether she would make it to Paris after undergoing surgery on her anterior cruciate ligament, left and right meniscus, which kept her out of cycling until May.
“[Rehab] “It’s been a grind since day one,” said Benegas, who missed the podium in Tokyo by seven-tenths of a point. “I knew I wanted to be part of the Olympics, so I just did everything I could, put my head down and got to work. I’m just really happy to be here and even more grateful to be taking home the medal.”
After posting a clean baseline score of 83.40 on her first run, Benegas upped the difficulty for her second attempt, including a standout 360 into an X-up that impressed the judges. “I just wanted to go out there and put down a run that I was personally excited about,” she said. “It’s just the best run that counts, so there’s everything to gain, nothing to lose,” she said. “I just said to myself, ‘Let’s go.'”
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Few people have more insight into Benegas’ journey to the Olympic podium than Roberts, who praised the tenacity and perseverance of her senior teammate and friend. “There’s nobody who works harder than Perris,” Roberts said. “Just seeing her mentality, her rehab and the gym, and being right back where we started, it’s super impressive. Perris is a total badass, on and off the bike. She’s a lovely person. She’s probably one of my best friends.”
Even as her Olympic disappointment hit a new low, Roberts remained positive and set her sights early on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“Whatever happens, I’m just happy that I can do this,” she said. “It’s a dream come true. The goal is of course to win the gold medal at the Olympics. But at the same time, it doesn’t have to happen. I have a very successful career at 22 and I just want to keep improving, no matter what happens.”