BMX racing sees high-stakes drama with crashes and upsets

There was drama at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on Friday with Team USA's reigning Olympic champion Connor Field crashing out of the third round of the men’s cycling BMX racing semifinal. Fields was stretchered off the course and taken away in an ambulance.

He wasn't the only rider to wipe out. In the women's semifinals, Australia's Saya Sakakibara was also carried off after a crash in the third run.

 

Australia's Saya Sakakibara receives medical attention after a crash in the BMX racing semifinal on July 30. She was leading the race when she went down. (Christian Hartmann/Reuters)

 

Sylvain Andre and Romain Mahieu of Team France, and Connor Fields of the US compete in the BMX semifinals on Friday in Tokyo. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

 

Kye Whyte of Team Great Britain competes in the BMX semifinals on Friday. (Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Netherlands' Niek Kimmann won BMX gold, despite suffering a fractured knee during official training. It's the first Olympic gold medal for the Netherlands in cycling BMX racing. Kye Whyte of Great Britain took silver, while Carlos Alberto Ramirez of Colombia earned bronze.

Meanwhile, Great Britain's Bethany Shriever held off two-time Olympic gold medalist Mariana Pajon of Colombia to win the women’s BMX racing final by just 0.09 seconds.