Olympic Double Cross
Day 10: BMX and Kayak Cross Turn Racing Into a Full-Contact Sport
What happens if you take the physicality of rugby and put it on 2 wheels? Or in a boat? You get BMX Racing and Kayak Cross, two of the most thrilling sports at the Olympic Games.
BMX Racing got its Olympic start in 2008, and was an instant hit. (Fun Fact: BMX is an abbreviation for Bicycle Motocross!) Eight competitors line up side-by-side, launch down a 25 foot ramp, fly over bumps and around banked turns reaching speeds of nearly 40 mph, and cross the finish line in just 30 seconds. If that sounds dangerous, it is. But it is also breathlessly thrilling, and yesterday delivered one of the most epic finals of the Games so far.
This year in Paris, another contact racing sport joins the Olympic lineup with the debut of Kayak Cross; raising the stakes from the dirt track to the whitewater. Each race starts with athletes in their boats being dropped 15 feet into rushing rapids, paddling around a series of gates, and doing an eskimo roll, all while racing several other competitors. Kayakers bump and battle right from the start for the best line down the course.
After time trials last week, the Kayak Cross competition kicks into high gear today with the Men’s and Women’s Heats. The top two athletes in each heat advance to tomorrow’s quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. Each race takes just a little over a minute, so make some time to catch the action.
What To Watch Today
(All times Eastern. Full event replays available on-demand on Peacock)
There are 20 Gold medals to be awarded in 12 sports, including the final day of competition for Swimming, Archery, Fencing, and Tennis.
3:00 am - Golf: Men's Final Round 🇺🇸 🥇
4:00 am - Equestrian: Dressage Individual Grand Prix Freestyle 🥇
4:05 am - Athletics: Women's 3000m Steeplechase Round 1, Women's Hammer Throw Qualis, Women's 200m Round 1, Men's Long Jump Qualis, Men's 110m Hurdles Round 1, and Women's 400m Hurdles Round 1 🇺🇸
6:00 am - Tennis: Men’s Singles and Women’s Doubles Gold Medal Matches 🥇🥇
8:00 am - Cycling: Women's Road Race 🇺🇸 🥇
8:30 am - Table Tennis: Men’s Singles Gold Medal Match 🥇
8:33 am - Archery: Men's Individual Medal Matches 🇺🇸 🥇
9:00 am - Gymnastics: Men's Rings Final 🥇
9:00 am - Badminton: Men's Doubles Medal Matches 🥇
9:30 am - Canoe Slalom: Men’s Kayak Cross Heats 🇺🇸
9:30 am - Shooting: Skeet Women's Final 🇺🇸 🥇
9:40 am - Gymnastics: Women's Uneven Bars Final 🇺🇸 🥇
10:24 am - Gymnastics: Men's Vault Final 🥇
10:45 am - Canoe Slalom: Women's Kayak Cross Heats 🇺🇸
11:15 am - Basketball: Women’s Pool Round, USA vs Germany 🇺🇸
12:30 pm - Swimming: Women's 50m Freestyle, Men's 1500m Freestyle, Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay, and Women's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Finals 🇺🇸 🥇🥇🥇🥇
1:05 pm - 3v3 Basketball: Men’s Pool Round, USA vs Netherlands 🇺🇸
1:05 pm - Athletics: Men's 400m Round 1, Men's 100m Semi-Final, Women's 800m Semi-Final, Men's 1500m Semi-Final, Women's High Jump Final, Men's Hammer Throw Final, and Men's 100m Final 🇺🇸 🥇🥇🥇
1:10 pm - Fencing: Men's Foil Team Medal Matches 🇺🇸 🥇
4:00 pm - Beach Volleyball: Women’s Round of 16, USA vs ITA 🇺🇸
In Other Olympic News…
Dominica and St. Lucia had never won an Olympic medal before yesterday, then they both won Golds in back-to-back events.
A French Pole Vaulter missed the Finals, but still won the day.
Defending Women’s 100m Gold Medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce withdrew due to injury.
10-time Olympian officially retires. What have you accomplished since 1988?
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Thanks for all these Olympic updates, and news they're brilliantly put together and I'm loving them! The photos are great, too.