SA BMX freestyle champion Leygonie hopes to flat spin his way into Olympic quarter-finals

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's first-ever BMX freestyle champion Vincent Leygonie will be making his debut at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old from Johannesburg will compete against 12 other riders in the qualifying rounds. If he succeeds, he will advance to the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
 
He’s the first rider from Africa in the BMX freestyle competition, which was introduced at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Leygonie became South Africa's first-ever BMX freestyle champion when he won the 2023 Park Lines BMX Tournament.

"It's honestly a crazy honour to be representing South Africa in the Olympics. I mean, when I was a laaitie, I used to race in mountain bikes and racing road cycling, there was always a mini goal of mine to get to the Olympics," said Leygonie.

BMX freestyle cycling appears for the second time at the Olympic Games as a new sporting code alongside skateboarding and breakdancing.

Leygonie told EWN that when he dropped mountain biking and road cycling for BMX riding, he thought his Olympics dreams were done but the edition of BMX freestyle in Tokyo ensured he achieved his goal.

"But once I switched to freestyle BMX, my Olympic dreams went out the door, because, you know, freestyle BMX wasn't in the Olympics, but since Tokyo, the freestyle BMX was added in. And to be the first South African, never mind, the first African to go represent, it's a huge honour to do it for South Africa is a cool one. I'm super patriotic about that kind of stuff."

The BMX freestyle competition will take place in an urban park where riders will perform as many tricks as possible in 60 seconds. They will be scored based on the difficulty of the tricks, the height of their jumps, and the creativity and style of their routines.

When asked how he prepared for competitions, he told EWN that his biggest stressor as an athlete was funding to get into competition and that the need for a bigger budget plagued him constantly.

"Now, mentally, it's a tough one, obviously, for me, it's a bit different to everyone else because I don't have incredible facilities back home. I don't have an unlimited budget to travel the world. I'm not saying everyone has a limited budget, but they generally have a bit more than me. So it's quite tough, because, you know, you're stressing about money, you're stressing about making rent, you're stressing about, like, feeding your household."

He further pointed out the support of his friends and family had eased the stress on his pockets and that it gave him space to meditate ahead of major competitions.

'I've been blessed with my family and friends around me that support me financially. So that took away a bit of meditating, a lot of breathing, a lot of listening to music quietly, just getting your head in the road and just keeping busy. You can't be mentally freaked out when you're doing something."

BMX freestyle got its first run out on the Olympic stage at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. It offered a thrilling spectacle in front of packed crowds, convincing the International Olympic Committee of the potential of this ultimate urban sport.

BMX freestyle returns for its second Olympic Games at Paris 2024 after making its competitive debut at Tokyo 2020.