Yawen Deng Clinches BMX Freestyle Gold At Paris Olympics 2024

Add as a preferred source on Google

Yawen Deng of China clinched the Women's BMX Freestyle Park Olympic title at La Concorde in Paris on Wednesday, 31 July. Her impressive score of 92.60 secured her the gold medal, outpacing silver medalist Perris Benegas from the USA, who scored 90.70 points, and Australia's Natalya Diehm, who took bronze with 88.80 points.

Each competitor had two 60-second runs, with their best score counting towards the final result. With Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Charlotte Worthington of Great Britain failing to advance past Tuesday's qualification stage, it was clear a new champion would emerge.

Run 1: Early Leads and Crashes

Natalya Diehm initially took the lead with a score of 88.80. Chile's Macarena Pérez Grasset followed closely with 83.80, while Iveta Miculyčová from the Czech Republic posted an 82.3. Queensaray Villegas Serna of Colombia crashed during her run, scoring only 64.80, and France's Laury Perez fell as well, ending up with a mere 2.80.

Perris Benegas from the USA set a strong pace with big transfers, aiming to improve on her fourth-place finish in Tokyo, scoring 83.4. China's Jiaqi Sun had an impressive run but crashed near the end, resulting in a score of 70.80.

Run 2: Dominance and Determination

Laury Perez managed to recover slightly in her second run but only posted a score of 64.3. Diehm attempted a front-flip but could not better her first-run score of 87.70. Pérez Grasset improved her performance to an 84.55 but remained in provisional bronze position until Villegas Serna's score of 88.0 moved her up to third place temporarily.

Perris Benegas aimed for a medal and achieved a score of 90.70, securing provisional silver with three riders left to compete. Jiaqi Sun's crash prevented her from improving her initial score, leaving Yawen Deng confident in her leading position as she entered her second run.

Deng's Unstoppable Performance

Deng's second run solidified her lead with a final score of 92.60, putting additional pressure on Hannah Roberts from the USA, who had already faced difficulties after crashing during warm-up and again in her first run. Roberts' early mistake in her second attempt meant she could not challenge Deng’s top spot.

Deng expressed satisfaction with her performance: "After the first run, I was on top and that gave me more confidence to level up my performance in the second run," she said post-victory. "If you do every move well, your final score can't be bad," she added confidently.

Future Prospects

The new Olympic Champion remains focused on immediate goals rather than long-term plans: "I haven't thought that far yet," Deng said regarding defending her title at Los Angeles 2028 Games. I just want to compete well in each race and take it one race at a time."