Anthony Jeanjean is first and foremost a big sports fan. The native of Béziers says he “watched everything on TV when he was younger.” Today he is one of the best French people in BMX free style. A discipline where he must perform aerial or ground figures, on the handlebars of his BMX bike, smaller and more solid than a classic bike.
He discovered this discipline when he was 10 years old, at FISE, the Montpellier International Extreme Sports Festival. By chance (or luck), the sporting event fell close to his birthday (he was born on May 13, 1998). His gift was perfect: a BMX bike.
Only seventh in the Tokyo Games
Anthony Jeanjean will participate in his second Olympics after Tokyo in 2021. And his days are quite simple to summarize: they are 100% Olympic. “I decided, even though I was already doing it, to devote 100% of my time, of my life, to the Olympic Games”he explains to Fanny Lechevestrier, cycling specialist at France Inter. “Everything I do is for that. I try to optimize everything. There is a lot of technical work in BMX but also mental work. I put my whole life into this. From nutrition, to all my training, physical, mental, my rest. It’s very, very advanced”.
“I have a great revenge to take”
Anthony Jeanjean missed out in Tokyo, only seventh. “I know I can medal this summer in Paris. In Tokyo, I was capable of it too but I wasn’t as well prepared, I didn’t have the same age, I didn’t have the same experience. I have a nice revenge to take ». Anthony Jeanjean will be 26 years old in thirteen days. Triple European champion, quadruple French champion, he will meet at Place de la Concorde, where the BMX freestyle events will take place (July 30 and 31).
The history of BMX freestyle at the Olympic Games
For its first foray into the world of Olympics, BMX freestyle appeared on the program of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018.
In 2021, it was at the Tokyo Olympic Games that BMX freestyle made its big debut. This new sport brings its youth, its adrenaline and its dizzying “spines” to a dense and exciting cycling program.
