‘You could argue that was the highest level of riding we have ever seen,’ reflects Kieran Reilly, five months on winning silver in the men’s BMX freestyle event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 23-year-old from Gateshead has a good case. The gold medal winning score at the Olympics in Tokyo three years earlier would have only proved enough to finish fifth in the French capital back in July.
With the standard on show, the margins would also prove small in pursuit of places on the podium.
Reilly, who entered the final as the reigning world champion and top qualifier, would ultimately fall just shy of achieving his aim of becoming Olympic champion at the Place de la Concorde.
‘Paris was an absolutely amazing experience for me,’ Reilly tells Mail Sport. ‘It was a dream of mine from watching Tokyo, I wasn’t ready or at that level for Tokyo, but I set my sights for Paris and becoming an Olympian.
‘The second I became an Olympian, I wanted to become Olympic champion. That was always the goal and I wanted to take that silverware home.
Team GB star Kieran Reilly won men’s BMX Freestyle silver medal at the Olympics in Paris
The 23-year-old from Gateshead believes the final was the highest level of riding seen yet
Reilly finished agonisingly short of claiming gold, with Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil triumphing
‘That didn’t happen, but I was very proud of what I did do at the Olympics.’
The Team GB star, who was easily recognised by his trademark mullet, had guaranteed himself a minimum of a bronze medal by achieving a score of 93.70 with the first of two one minute runs in the competition.
The question was whether he would be able to overtake French favourite Anthony Jeanjean and Argentina’s Jose Torres Gil with his final run.
Reilly’s second run, which ended with a 720 double tailwhip, pushed him above the Frenchman but he ended 0.91 shy of Torres Gil’s first run score to finish as the runner-up.
With tricks themselves only part of criteria that also include creativity, speed and style, the Argentine ultimately was favoured by the judges.
The silver medal continued Team GB’s impressive performances in BMX Freestyle, a discipline which was added to the Olympic programme for Tokyo as part of a push for the Games to become more urban and remain attractive to young people.
His success followed Charlotte Worthington winning gold in the women’s event in the Japanese capital, while Declan Brooks was a bronze medallist in the men’s competition.
Reilly admits the Olympic silver medal has only fuelled his desire to compete at the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles, stressing that he will be targeting ‘redemption’ in four years time.
Reilly admits missing out on gold has motivated him more to compete at Los Angeles 2028
‘Honestly I think getting the silver medal at Paris was more motivating than anything else,’ Reilly said. ‘Had I gone there and won gold, I think it would definitely be different.
‘Now I have pretty much got my sights set straight away on LA. I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
‘I think I have got some redemption to get at the next Olympics.’
Reilly also acknowledges that life since the Olympics has been ‘manic’, citing the numerous opportunities that have come his way since stepping onto the podium at the Games.
Just weeks after helping family members get their hands on the latest Newcastle United kit ahead of his Olympic final, the Magpies fan was paraded out in front of the St James’ Park crowd ahead of their opening Premier League match against Southampton.
Reilly was also chosen as the official starter for the Great North Run, while he made time to go back to the council skatepark near his parents’ house, where his love of BMX began as a nine-year-old.
‘It has been amazing,’ Reilly said. ‘So many opportunities that I had dreamt of and never would have expected to be a part of.
The Newcastle fans told Mail Sport it was a ‘childhood dream’ to walk out at St James’ Park
Reilly was also included among the judges for the Pride of Britain Awards in October
‘Things like being a judge on the panel of the Pride of Britain. I never would have expected to be in that position, being sat next to Carol Vorderman, that’s not something you expect or hope for after the Games.
‘Coming out onto the pitch at St James’ was a childhood dream, now the sense of pride that I have since then, it tops anything I have ever done.
‘It has been huge for me personally to know that three years has paid off. What has come from it has been nothing short of unreal. As well as these amazing privileges I now have the added pressure of backing that up. That’s just as exciting and as motivating.’
Reilly’s immediate aim is defending the world title he claimed in front of a home crowd in Glasgow last year, with the World Championships taking place in Abu Dhabi next week.
The 23-year-old is hoping to become the first man to win the men’s BMX Freestyle world title back-to-back.
‘That is my goal, that would be amazing, to end this year on a high,’ Reilly said. ‘Next year, we have the continental championships again and I would like to do the Europeans for a third time in a row.
‘That would be something I would be really proud of, we have got a really stacked field in Europe, especially in the UK at the moment.
‘Then continue to push myself, I have amazing sponsors like Red Bull, Adidas and we hope to do some really good content and video projects.’
The BMX star is hoping to claim back-to-back world titles after winning in Glasgow last year
Reilly is then aiming to raise the bar further at a new Red Bull Featured event next year
Reilly’s attention next year will also turn to the launch of a new event, with the Team GB star becoming the face of the Red Bull Featured competition which will launch in Manchester in April.
The event is the brainchild of Sebastian ‘Bas’ Keep’ and will feature 16 of the world’s best male and female BMX riders.
Competition will take place on a custom-built course in Manchester Central on April 12, with riders completing four features – high air, sub box, quarter pipe and jump box. Riders will be ranked for each feature, with the best ranked rider across the features taking the victory.
Reilly believes the event can help push the sport to new levels due to falls not being penalised, something he believes gives riders the opportunity to push themselves to the absolute limit.
‘For me the biggest thing about the event and being a part of it was just pushing BMX as much as I can and Red Bull basically give us that opportunity with this event,’ Reilly said. ‘You are able to push the boundaries of the sport without being punished basically for taking that risk.
‘This new format basically takes that away, so it is a whole different type of competition to what we do week in, week out. You can spend months and months practicing for this one trick and have a fair few attempts without being penalised for crashing.
‘You have a go at something at an event which might be the first time it has ever been done and you haven’t got to do 10 tricks prior. It takes the stress out of the consistency side of things.’
Competition will be scored by fellow Team GB Olympic medallists Worthington and Brooks, as well as David Cleworth, who served as head judge at Paris 2024.
Reilly claims the refreshing format and city centre location can draw in a new generation of fans, who may be watching the competition for the first time.
The Red Bull backed athlete believes the competition can help raise the level of BMX further
The Olympic silver medallist, who in 2022 became the first rider to land a triple flair – three backflips with a 180 degree rotation, believes the competition offers the chance for riders to mark their names in history.
‘I definitely have got huge ideas and aspirations for the future event,’ Reilly said. ‘I think everyone who has read the invite that I have chatted to has had the same exact thoughts. You pretty much start at the drawing board and think about what your strengths are as a BMX rider and think about what has and hasn’t been done.
‘Speaking for myself, I am sure most riders will look at their strengths and go to a foam pit or a training ramp and they will likely keep everything quiet and under wraps and debut those big new tricks at that event.
‘I think the majority of the riders that attend are going to want to mark their names in history and kind of do something, a world’s first. Because you don’t often get the size of these ramps, the opportunity, the crowd, the adrenaline to do them, to debut new tricks.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk