Tyneside BMX rider Kieran Reilly wins Olympic silver for Team GB in Paris
The Tyneside rider went into the final as the favourite following an incredible qualifying run on Tuesday.
The North East has its first silver medal of the Paris 2024 Olympics thanks to BMX rider Kieran Reilly.
This summer marked the Olympian’s first games, although he came into the event as world champion following a win last year - beating his second place from the previous year.
Taking the last place in the schedule for the BMX event, Reilly had the opportunity to watch his fellow competitors before his runs.
As part of the event each rider gets two 60 second runs, with judges giving riders a score out of 100.
Reilly scored a 93.70 in his first run in a scintillating final, putting him in second ahead of the final efforts. He then scored a 93.91, meaning he finished second to Argentinian Jose Torres Gil.
The 23 year old will need to wait for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 to push for gold.
The North East local previously posted on his social media showing an Adidas advert placed in the centre of Newcastle as one of the faces of team GB.
This was the North East’s first medal of the day after Gateshead triathlete Kate Waugh missed out on a podium place earlier on the Wednesday morning.