Paris, FRA (August 2, 2024) – Molly Simpson of Red Deer, Alberta made Canadian BMX racing history with a fifth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games finals on August 2. This is the best women’s result for Canada.
After a near-perfect day in qualifying on August 1, where she posted consecutive top-3 finishes in each of her rounds to accumulate a total of seven points, the 21-year-old, in her very first Olympic experience, was able to finish in fourth place thanks to soaring starts, which put her in good stead for the semi-finals on August 2.
“I’m so excited,” she commented after the first day of competition. “I’m so happy and grateful to be here, this experience is amazing. I’m just following my process, and this is how I can give my best. I’m just trying to soak it all in.”
Finishing second, fourth and fifth in her semi-final rounds, Simpson made it through to the final, finishing seventh in the standings, where the top eight finishers qualified.
It was with another strong start that Simpson climbed to the front of the race, forming the top 4, before being overtaken in extremis by Dutch rider Laura Smulders, just missing out on the podium to finish fifth.
“I’m overwhelmed with emotions,” commented Molly after her final race. “I’m happy and grateful. Of course, I would have loved to medal, but for my first Games, to be fifth is cool, and getting through those semifinals was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, so to be in the top eight was just amazing. It’s only the beginning for me, I’ve worked so hard. We’re in a good spot and we’ll just keep going.”
Australia’s Saya Sakakibara took top honors, followed by the Netherlands’ Manon Veenstra in silver and Switzerland’s Zoe Claessens in bronze.
With her fifth place, Simpson equaled the best Canadian result in the discipline, while Tory Nyhaug had also come fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on the men’s side.
Further information, including results and a full schedule of events, is available at olympics.com. Competition for Team Canada cyclists continues on August 3, when Derek Gee and Mike Woods will be in action in the men’s road race.
About Cycling Canada
Cycling Canada is one of the oldest national sport organizations in Canada and has one simple purpose: to inspire Canadians to cycle. Cycling Canada administers programs to promote and grow cycling across the country, hosts national and international events and manages the National Team in all levels of international competition.
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