Marcus Christopher
{{short description|American freestyle BMX cyclist (born 2002)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox cyclist
| name = Marcus Christopher
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|12|31}}
| birth_place = Hartville, Ohio US
| discipline = Freestyle BMX
| role = Rider
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's freestyle BMX}}
{{MedalCountry| the {{Flagu|United States}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|X Games}}
{{MedalGold|2024 Ventura|BMX park}}
{{MedalSilver|2023 Chiba|BMX park}}
}}
Marcus Christopher (born December 31, 2002) is an American professional freestyle BMX rider. He represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Early life
Christopher was born to Matt and Lori Christopher, and has a younger brother, Charlie. He attended Lake High School in Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio. He turned pro in 2016 at age 13.{{cite web |url=https://www.cantonrep.com/story/sports/2016/12/23/lake-eighth-grader-turns-pro/23287237007/ |title=Lake eighth-grader turns pro in BMX freestyle |newspaper=The Repository |first=Andy |last=Harris |date=December 23, 2016 |access-date=July 30, 2024}}
Career
Christopher made his X Games debut at 16 years old in 2019. In May 2023, he won a bronze medal in BMX park in Japan.{{cite web |url=https://www.xgames.com/athletes/marcus-christopher |title=Marcus Christopher |website=xgames.com |access-date=July 30, 2024}} In July 2023, during the Summer X Games in California he suffered a broken jaw and cheekbone when he overshot his landing spot on a transfer and crashed face-first to the ground. He underwent surgery and had his jaw wired shut for two weeks.{{cite web |url=https://www.cantonrep.com/story/sports/2023/07/24/marcus-christopher-bmx-park-x-games-california-injuries-broken-jaw-facial-fractures-lake-high-school/70456126007/|title=BMX pro Marcus Christopher of Lake recovering after frightening fall at X Games California |newspaper=The Repository |first=Josh |last=Weir |date=July 25, 2023 |access-date=July 30, 2024}} In June 2024, he competed at the 2024 Summer X Games in Ventura, California and won a gold medal in BMX park with a score of 95.66, finishing nearly five points ahead of silver medal winner Kevin Peraza.{{cite web |url=https://www.xgames.com/events/x-games-presents/x-games-athletes-competing-at-the-paris-2024-olympics |title=Olympic BMX and Skateboard Preview & Coverage |website=xgames.com |access-date=July 30, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.xgames.com/events/x-games-ventura-2024/competitions/mens-bmx-park-final |title=Men's BMX Park Final on the SONIC Park Course |website=xgames.com |access-date=July 30, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cantonrep.com/story/news/local/stark-county/2024/07/03/x-games-bmx-winner-marcus-christopher-competing-paris-olympics-lake-high-school-stark-county-ohio/74282822007/ |title=The comeback kid: Lake High School grad Marcus Christopher makes Olympics in BMX freestyle |newspaper=The Repository |first=Ed |last=Balint |date=July 3, 2024 |access-date=July 30, 2024}}
= 2024 Olympics =
In December 2023, Christopher was selected to compete in the 2024 Olympic Qualifier Series.{{cite web |url=https://www.cantonrep.com/story/sports/olympics/2023/12/20/bmx-freestyle-marcus-christopher-olympic-qualifier-series-ioc-usa-cycling-lake-2024-paris-olympics/71968032007/ |title=Lake grad Marcus Christopher selected for IOC's Olympic Qualifier Series in BMX Freestyle |newspaper=The Repository |date=December 20, 2023 |access-date=July 30, 2024}} During the second leg of the qualifier series in Budapest, he finished in second place with a score of 92.98.{{cite web |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/marcus-christopher-usa-qualified-second |title=Marcus Christopher – USA – qualified second |website=Olympics.com |date=June 22, 2024 |access-date=July 30, 2024}} As a result, he qualified to represent United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics where he was the youngest competitor in the field.{{cite web |url=https://usacycling.org/article/usa-cycling-names-23-athletes-to-the-2024-u-s-olympic-team |title=USA Cycling Names 23 Athletes to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team |website=usacycling.org |first=Angelina |last=Palermo |date=July 11, 2024 |access-date=July 30, 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2024/07/which-northeast-ohio-athletes-will-be-competing-at-the-2024-paris-olympics.html |title=Which Northeast Ohio athletes will be competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics? |website=Cleveland.com |first=Tim |last=Bielik |date=July 25, 2024 |access-date=July 30, 2024}} During the men's BMX freestyle event he finished in fourth place with a score of 93.11, just behind France's Anthony Jeanjean score of 93.76.{{cite web |url=https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/olympics/local-athletes/marcus-christopher-paris-olympics-bmx-freestyle-finals-medal-canton-ohio/95-47ff3385-929d-477f-86eb-cbfcabce01cf |title=Marcus Christopher of Canton narrowly misses medal after finishing 4th in BMX freestyle finals at 2024 Paris Olympics |website=WKYC |first=Ryan |last=Haidet |date=July 31, 2024 |access-date=July 31, 2024}} Christopher achieved the best result for United States in men's BMX freestyle at the Olympics.{{cite web |url=https://usacycling.org/article/perris-benegas-earns-silver-in-bmx-freestyle-at-paris-2024-olympics |title=HANNAH ROBERTS WINS SILVER IN BMX FREESTYLE'S OLYMPIC DEBUT AND FIRST MEDAL FOR TEAM USA IN CYCLING|last=Palermo| first=Angelina |work=USA Cycling |date=July 31, 2021 |accessdate=August 8, 2024}}
Competitive history
All results are sourced from the Union Cycliste Internationale.
As of August 8th, 2024
=Olympic Games=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
| "
!style="width:190px;"|Event !Freestyle Park |
| align=left |{{flagicon|FRA}} 2024 Paris
| 4th |
=UCI Cycling World Championships=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" |
| "
!style="width:190px;"|Event !Freestyle Park |
| align=left |{{flagicon|UAE}} 2022 Abu Dhabi
| 4th |
=UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! Season ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! Rank ! Points | ||||
| |2022 | bgcolor="#dfffdf"|MON 5 | bgcolor="#dfffdf"|BRU 4 | bgcolor="#dfffdf"|GOL 4 | ! 3
! 2260 |
| |2023 | bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|DIR 2 | bgcolor="#ffdf9f"|MON 3 | bgcolor="#dfffdf"|BRU 12 | bgcolor="#dfffdf"|BAZ 5 ! 4 ! 2830 |
| |2024 | bgcolor="#dfffdf"|ENO 8 | MON — | SHA | ! 18
! 570 |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Olympics.com profile|marcus-christopher}}
- {{Team USA|new_id=marcus-christopher}}
- {{X Games profile|new_id=marcus-christopher}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher, Marcus}}
Category:American male cyclists
Category:Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic cyclists for the United States