• London 2012 - BMX

Reade falls short in BMX bid

ESPN staff
August 10, 2012
Shanaze Reade fell in the last corner of the final in Beijing in 2008 © PA Photos
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Great Britain rider Shanaze Reade missed out on a medal in the women's BMX at London 2012, finishing only sixth in the final.

Reade, considered a serious contender for a podium place, was looking for a redemptive triumph, having fallen at the last corner of the final in the 2008 Games.

However, she made a lumbering start and was never able to recover across the remaining distance, with several of her rivals producing near-faultless races.

Colombia's Mariana Pajon won gold, with Sarah Walker of New Zealand taking silver and Laura Smulders of the Netherlands bronze.

"Today's schedule [semi-final and final on same day] has been pretty hard," Reade told the BBC. "I just tried to stay focused and do my best and today it just wasn't good enough.

"At the moment, I'm pretty emotionless. I'm sure it'll sink in. I can't thank all these people enough for supporting me and I don't really know what to say. I just didn't get the start I needed to win the race and that was it."

In the men's race, GB's Liam Phillips crashed out of the final, with Maris Strombergs of Latvia defending his Olympic title, Sam Willoughby of Australia taking silver and Carlos Oquendo of Colomba snatching bronze. A flying start put Phillips in bronze medal contention, but he fell at a crucial juncture.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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