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The lexicon of BMX Freestyle contains more jargon than the Olympic charter, but one thing was plain and simple at Place de la Concorde – it is one of the most thrilling spectacles of the Games.
As Kieran Reilly lined up for his final run, very few people watching had any idea what he was about to do, or needed to do, in his bid to a guaranteed bronze into gold, but, to them, it really did not matter.
The thousands of fans packed into this picture-postcard landmark in the middle of Paris were just there for the fun – and as the nine athletes twisted, contorted, and flipped their way around the course, to the sound Ozzy Ozbourne’s back catalogue and under the gaze of a 3,300-year-old Egyptian Obolisk, they got what they came for.
Reilly did not quite get what he came for in the end. He finished with silver, just 0.91 points off the gold he was tipped to win.
At the end of the first round, the 23-year-old was second behind Gil, but was then bypassed by France’s Anthony Jeanjean, much to the delight of a home crowd becoming increasingly sunburnt but too happy to care.
They cheered every icepick, X-up and Superman that landed and gasped when they didn’t. Fortunately for Reilly, everything he did came off.
After an anxious wait for the rest of the field to compete, he stood on top of the course knowing bronze was secure but had just one thing in his mind: gold.
As he pulled off a 720 double tail whip to finish his run, Reilly might have felt he had done enough. Many in the crowd certainly thought he had.
But in the end, it was silver, and with his family having made the trip over to the spectacular venue in the shadow of the Obelisk, the overwhelming feeling for Reilly was one of pride.
“It was pretty special,” he said. I’ve worked three years just to get here so to end up on the podium is huge. A lot of work comes down to one minute on that course and I feel like I left everything out there.
“I’d hoped it was (enough for gold) and thought it could have been but that’s BMX, we ride in a subjective sport.
“I wanted to go for gold (on the second run) and leave everything out there. It didn’t matter that I knew I was in a medal position.
“I didn’t want to switch off. I saw it as an opportunity to really go out there and give it my all and have a safety net. To go out there and move up a spot, that is the goal.
“I thought it might have been enough for gold, it wasn’t. But I’m just as happy knowing that I went out there and I’ll watch it back tomorrow and I know I’ll be proud of everything I did and all the work that went into it.
“During the medal ceremony, I was looking up at the crowd, at my family, trying to embrace everything.”
As he looked up to the crowd, Reilly spotted his whole family watching on, all kitted out in the black and white of Newcastle United.
His dad had been spotted in one yesterday during qualifying, and phone calls were made to ensure the whole clan were decked out in the latest kit for the final.
Reilly’s first run drew gasps from the crowd, with the 720 double tail whip the highlight. That was good enough for score of 93.70.
By the time he started again, Jeanjean – who fell on his first run – zoomed past him with a run that was so good, the stands shook as the crowd erupted.
But Reilly stepped it up to reclaim silver with a score of 93.91, just 0.91 behind Torres Gil.
While some might spend their time looking back at each moment, wondering if there was a trick or a landing that could have made the difference, Reilly prefers a different approach, and is no doubt right to do so.
He added: “I had prepared very well what I wanted to do and didn’t see the need to change things (before the second run). I ended up having to make some small changes because of small mistakes in landings and that might have been what cost me. Looking back, I can regret that all I want, or I can be proud of what I pulled off. I’ll stick to the latter.”
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