American BMX racer Kyle Bennett will get an extra day to rest his injured shoulder.
The men’s and women’s Olympic BMX semifinals and medal races were rained out Thursday, giving Bennett — the three-time world champion from Conroe, Texas, who dislocated his left shoulder in a nasty crash during a quarterfinal heat — an additional 24 hours to recover before racing again.
Rain began falling at the Laoshan cycling complex overnight, and when heavy squalls persisted during the morning, event officials decided to push the entire card back to Friday.
The course was covered by several tarps. Some teams had already arrived when the decision to postpone was announced; others, including the U.S., were on their way to the venue when racing was canceled, “in consideration of the fairness of the competition,” said a statement from the event organizers at the track.
Mike Day of the United States won the time trial and all three of his quarterfinal heats Thursday. He, Bennett and Donny Robinson all qualified for the semifinals, making the U.S. the only nation with three men in the round of 16. All three will be racing in the same round of semifinals.
Jill Kintner, the lone American woman in the field, was the seventh seed in her 16-racer event.
This is the first year BMX has been part of the Olympic program.