Learn

The Olympic Games in Beijing start in 17 days! The same 28 sports and 302 events will compete, but this year will include ONE NEW sport. The new BMX sport will be included in the Olympic program with events for men and women.

Origin of BMX Racing
The Bicycle Motocross (BMX) culture began in California during the 1960s when the Schwinn Sting-Ray was created. Its popularity grew intensely during the 1970s. Kids rode their bikes to mimic their motocross heroes off-road, which created this thrilling sport! BMX riders ride on lightweight bikes that have standard 20 inch wheels with single speed capacity. BMX racing involves racing on dirt tracks that include obstacles and jumps. Freestyle BMX is another form of BMX racing that is popular. Freestyle BMX competitions are scored based stunts and rider performance.

2008 BMX Olympic Games
A total of 48 athletes (32 men, 16 women) will be competing on the track to show their BMX skills. The BMX events will be held at Laoshan venues in Shijingshan District of Beijing. The track is about 300 to 400 meters long and involves technical jumps and other difficult obstacles designed to test top-level riders.

The format of the competition starts off with a seeding race twice around the track for fastest time. This prevents the top riders from competing against each other in the early stages.

The men advance from the seeding run to quarter-finals (3 runs), to semi-finals (3 runs), and to the final (1 run). Only the top four riders advance to the next round.

While the women advance straight from the seeding run to the semi-finals (3 runs) and then final (1 run).
BMX events will occur on August 22nd and 23rd! Stay tuned to see these youths compete for the first ever world Olympic BMX racing gold medal!