Kieran Reilly claimed silver for Great Britain in the men’s BMX Freestyle final at the Paris Olympics.
Reilly, crowned world champion in Glasgow last summer, collapsed onto his knees after pouring everything he had left into his second run, with a score of 93.91 pushing him above French favourite Anthony Jeanjean but not enough to match the 94.82 achieved by Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil.
It was a dramatic final in which Australia’s defending champion Logan Martin crashed on both of his runs, while Jeanjean also crashed on his first, needing to risk it all to chase glory the second time around.
Reilly, competing last in the order after topping qualifying on Tuesday, packed both of his 60-second runs full of tricks, and then threw his bike to the floor at the end of the second as he dropped to his knees and pumped his fists.
But as happy as the 23-year-old from Gateshead was with his effort, it was not enough to eclipse Torres Gil, who had fully pushed the boundaries of the park with two runs full of creativity.
Reilly’s silver builds on the bronze won by Declan Brooks in the men’s event when BMX Freestyle made its Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago – the same day that Charlotte Worthington won gold for Britain.
When Reilly went for his second run the 23-year-old from Gateshead was sitting in the bronze medal position behind both Torres Gil and Jeanjean, who had brought the home crowd to his feet with a spectacular second run in response to his aborted opener.
China’s Deng Yawen won gold in the women’s final from American Perris Benegas and Australia’s Natalya Diehm. American Hannah Roberts, the world number one, crashed in both of her runs.