SA BMX champion Vincent Leygonie celebrates Olympics debut

Leygonie was the opening act in run one, with a score of 73.20 – behind Croatian rider Marin Rantes at 85.19. 

Speaking to SABC Sport, Leygonie admits the competition was tight and he was made to pay for his mistakes.

"No one goes into the Olympics thinking they're going to be riding against the easiest competition, and it's going to be an easy win," said Leygonie.

"So, coming into the event, I had a few simple goals – finals was always an option because in a BMX event a lot of guys tend to crash, so as long as you keep it on two wheels, generally, you'll go through.

"But I loved every single minute of it, and I think I did really well, considering our situation. There are a few things I missed, which may have bumped me up to 10th–maybe even ninth, if I was lucky.

"But it's just one of those situations in our sport, which is tough on us, like if you make mistakes, you're going to pay for them and, I always say, the entrance fee into finals is quite high, so you've really got to be putting on the line and everyone's pushing for it.

"But I loved it, I had a great time – I had the most fun, and I definitely can do better going forward."

Leygonie, who is South Africa's first-ever BMX freestyle champion, says he is not disheartened by finishing 12th, even though his ambitions in Paris were higher. 

He believes there are plenty of positives to take from his trip, and is proud of his average score for both runs, which averaged at 75.85 – two points behind 11th place Rantes.

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