Olympic BMX champion brings his skills to Korea

Do you like riding a bicycle? Many children all over the world do, but so does 23 year old Maris Strombergs. Maris is from Latvia in Northern Europe and he is an Olympic gold medal BMX rider. Earlier this month he visited Korea to show off his skills and to encourage Korean people to try this exciting sport.

Bicycle motor cross, or BMX for short, is a sport that is popular all across Europe and North America, yet it is not very well known in Korea. The origins of the sport can be traced to California in the 1970¡¯s when kids would ride their bicycles on dirt tracks in the style of motocross racers. A BMX bicycle is different from other types of bicycles in that they are usually small and don¡¯t have any gears. BMX racers compete on dirt courses, flying over jumps and making tight turns around corners, pedaling very fast as they try to get first place.

Maris Stromberg is a true champion of BMX. He started riding when he was five years old and became the world champion at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After winning the gold medal he moved to California to become a professional rider, where he says he¡¯s already very famous. ¡°When I walk down the street, I get many kids coming up to me and ask for my autograph¡± he said. In fact other BMX riders in Korea say that he is the BMX equivalent of Michael Jordan!

BMX is still quite a small sport in Korea which is why Maris wanted to come and show Korean people how great his sport is. He competed at the Crown-Haitai International BMX Competition on April 17. It was held on the Han River Park in southeastern Seoul, and thousands come to watch the spectacular race.

Of course the Latvian champion was easily the leader of the race, but there is hope that in the future maybe Asian riders will make a big impact in the sport. Maris said there is already some tough competition in the word of BMX,¡°Now the race is becoming more and more competitive I need to train hard¡±.

Why don¡¯t you try taking up BMX? It¡¯s a great way to get some exercise and meet new friends. X-Sports like BMX, skateboarding and rollerblading help young people to become creative and work well individually. Although sports like BMX can be dangerous so long as you wear the right safety equipment like helmets and elbow and knee pads you won¡¯t get hurt.

So why not give BMX a try and maybe one day you can be a gold medalist like Maris Strombergs!