Kieran Reilly was eight when he rocked up at Leam Lane skate park on Boxing Day, and as he gingerly navigated the ramps and banks, he could scarcely have known he was embarking on a winding path that would take him from freezing Gateshead to the brutal heat of Paris, and an Olympic silver medal.
There was a certain disappointment, too, after a spectacular and spine-tingling second run that everyone at La Concorde - including Reilly himself reckoned would be enough to clinch BMX freestyle gold. The five judges disagreed, and by a margin of less than a point it went to an ecstatic José Torres Gil for Argentina's first gold medal of the Games, with Anthony Jeanjean claiming bronze for the host nation.
It turned out in the aftermath that British social media seemed to be harbouring hundreds of sudden BMX experts, all superciliously pointing out the unforgivable judging errors that had denied Reilly his rightful gold. On French television, squealing over Jeanjean's bronze went further, with the commentators declaring he had been "robbed".
Denne historien er fra August 01, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra August 01, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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