Henderson’s Connor Fields advances to Olympic BMX semifinals
LONDON — There is a replica track in San Diego like the one used at the Olympics here in BMX racing, a joint venture by USA Cycling and the United States Olympic Committee that cost nearly $700,000.
Connor Fields today would believe it was worth every penny.
The Henderson resident and Green Valley High School alumnus won the opening three motos of his qualifying group Thursday and easily advanced to today’s semifinals before a packed venue inside Olympic Park.
If Fields makes it out of semis, he will race for a gold medal at 8:40 a.m. Las Vegas time.
One race. Eight riders. Everything on the line.
"It was a lot of fun out there, and I’m happy with the way I raced," Fields said. "Still, I have a few kinks to iron out, but I felt good. Just going to keep moving forward and be ready for (today).
"I was just relaxed and kind of got into a zone and stayed there. I treated it like any other race, and I’ll continue to do that. I just have to take it one lap at a time, and that’s what I plan to do."
Fields rolled through the course of jumps and turns, avoiding the crashes and spills that ended other Olympic dreams.
He finished his runs in 37.721, 38.352 and 38.025 seconds.
– Ed Graney/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL