Marcus Christopher (born December 31, 2002) is an American professional freestyle BMX rider. He represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Marcus Christopher
Personal information
Born (2002-12-31) December 31, 2002 (age 21)
Hartville, Ohio US
Team information
DisciplineFreestyle BMX
RoleRider
Medal record
Men's freestyle BMX
Representing the  United States
X Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Ventura BMX park
Silver medal – second place 2023 Chiba BMX park

Early life

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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.[1]

Career

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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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4][5][6]

2024 Olympics

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In December 2023, Christopher was selected to compete in the 2024 Olympic Qualifier Series.[7] During the second leg of the qualifier series in Budapest, he finished in second place with a score of 92.98.[8] As a result, he qualified to represent United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics where he was the youngest competitor in the field.[9][10] 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.[11] Christopher achieved the best result for United States in men's BMX freestyle at the Olympics.[12]

Competitive history

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All results are sourced from the Union Cycliste Internationale.

As of August 8th, 2024

Olympic Games

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Event Freestyle Park
  2024 Paris 4th

UCI Cycling World Championships

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Event Freestyle Park
  2022 Abu Dhabi 4th

UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup

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Season 1 2 3 4 Rank Points
2022 MON
5
BRU
4
GOL
4
3 2260
2023 DIR
2
MON
3
BRU
12
BAZ
5
4 2830
2024 ENO
8
MON
SHA
 
18 570

References

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  1. ^ Harris, Andy (December 23, 2016). "Lake eighth-grader turns pro in BMX freestyle". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Marcus Christopher". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Weir, Josh (July 25, 2023). "BMX pro Marcus Christopher of Lake recovering after frightening fall at X Games California". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  4. ^ "Olympic BMX and Skateboard Preview & Coverage". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "Men's BMX Park Final on the SONIC Park Course". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Balint, Ed (July 3, 2024). "The comeback kid: Lake High School grad Marcus Christopher makes Olympics in BMX freestyle". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "Lake grad Marcus Christopher selected for IOC's Olympic Qualifier Series in BMX Freestyle". The Repository. December 20, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  8. ^ "Marcus Christopher – USA – qualified second". Olympics.com. June 22, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  9. ^ Palermo, Angelina (July 11, 2024). "USA Cycling Names 23 Athletes to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team". usacycling.org. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Bielik, Tim (July 25, 2024). "Which Northeast Ohio athletes will be competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics?". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Haidet, Ryan (July 31, 2024). "Marcus Christopher of Canton narrowly misses medal after finishing 4th in BMX freestyle finals at 2024 Paris Olympics". WKYC. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  12. ^ Palermo, Angelina (July 31, 2021). "HANNAH ROBERTS WINS SILVER IN BMX FREESTYLE'S OLYMPIC DEBUT AND FIRST MEDAL FOR TEAM USA IN CYCLING". USA Cycling. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
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