CHINA/FILE: OLYMPICS BEIJING 2008: U.S. BMX team prepare for sport's Olympic debut in Beijing

Record ID: 335307

  • Title: CHINA/FILE: OLYMPICS BEIJING 2008: U.S. BMX team prepare for sport's Olympic debut in Beijing
  • Date: 14th August 2008
  • Summary: (BN10) FILE - CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 13, 2008) (REUTERS) RIDERS WAITING AT STARTING LINE ROBINSON AND DAY LEAVING STARTING GATE BMX RIDERS TRAINING ON COURSE
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA1AMXJSYV5GEB1JPBL8BQ24Q5P
  • Story Text: This is our "coming out party" says BMX U.S. Olympic team member before they race in the 2008 Beijing Games.
    BMX racers are making their debut at the Olympicsand U.S. riders are promising to shed their "punk kid" image and prove they are worthy athletes.
    The introduction this year of BMX (bicycle motocross0 as an Olympic event has raised some eyebrows among the sporting elite, but the Games ideals of "faster, higher, stronger" definitely apply to BMX, the U.S. team said.
    Kyle Bennett, U.S. BMX team member said using their training course in Chula Vista, California had been good preparation for Beijing.

    "Actually the track in Chula Vista, I think some of the jumps are just a little bit further. It's kind of hard to replicate and to be the exact same way but it's pretty much spot on. I mean we are very fortunate for that to have that pretty much in our own backyard," he said in Beijing on Sunday.
    Bennett said it was a chance to showcase a new sport to the public.

    "This is kind of like our coming out party. It's the first time it's gonna be in the Olympics and I just hope everybody is going to like it," he said.
    Action-packed races last just 40 seconds, with the bikers launching themselves off a steep incline, which is higher than a three-storey building, and hitting speeds of 40 miles an hour (65 kph) as they skid around banked turns and jump high into the air.
    Donny Robinson, 25, who dreams of starring in Broadway musicals when his BMX days are over, was simply happy to make it to the Beijing Games.
    BMX was nurtured in the Californian counter-culture of the 1970s and has a reputation of being a sport for 'tearaways', but the Olympic embrace should help clean up its image.
    Robinson was ready to clear the sport's reputation.

    "It's such a huge thing for us to be able to kind of show the world that the BMX racing is not just a bunch of kids going out riding, tearing off stuff. This has been our life, our passion. It's gonna be great to show the world that parents and kids of all ages can enjoy this sport of BMX racing. It's gonna add some edgy and youthfulness to the summer Games,"
    Robinson said.
    The Olympics feature many so-called noble sports, such as rowing, fencing and swimming, which have deep-rooted traditions but often limited appeal among younger generations.
    After successfully absorbing beach volleyball into the Games, sporting authorities now hope that BMX races will provide a further dose of youthful glamour.
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