How better to test the integrity of a cardboard bed than with a BMX stunt? This was the thought that crossed freestyle rider Vincent Leygonie's mind the moment he arrived at the athlete village for his Olympic debut.
This year, as was the case in Tokyo in 2021, athletes are sleeping on cardboard beds at the Games, a measure that seeks to make the event more environmentally friendly.
Prior to arriving in Paris, South African BMXer Leygonie had seen videos of other athletes testing the beds online, and said he "almost fell through the window" when he carried out his own.
"When we came into the village room, the first thing I did was jump on it, and I was like, 'We could totally trick on it'," he told Cycling Weekly. "I just thought, there's nothing cooler than doing a trick on it. I'm a BMX rider, we're badass, so if we're going to do a bed test, let's do a barspin on it.
Leygonie's video, filmed by his coach, has since gathered over 70,000 views on Instagram. The shot he posted was his third attempt, he admitted.
"In the first take, I hopped and ducked my head because I thought I was going to hit the roof, but I was like a whole two metres away from it. I tried a couple of tricks, I almost fell through the window a couple of times, because it's so tight, but it was good," he smiled.
Reassured by his test, the South African went on to spend his first night in the bed, which he found "actually more comfortable than you would think".
"A lot of people are giving them a lot of hate for no reason. I think I'm suffering more with the heat than the bed. The bed's super comfortable. Or it might just be that my bed at home is really bad."
Leygonie did not qualify for Wednesday's men's BMX freestyle final, which was won by Argentina's José Torres Gil, ahead of Team GB's Keiran Reilly. The South African, a former mountain biker, said his debut Olympics brought some "highlight moments", with personal-best scoring in his runs.
"The first day I got [a BMX bike], my friend told me to try a trick. I tried it for like five hours straight and I was hooked. Then all my friends got bikes and we just started riding bikes and having fun. That's all BMX has ever been to be, just having fun," he said. "The fact I've gotten onto the world stage is just absolutely insane."
