Cyclist Iveta Miculyčová (pictured on June 16, 2023).
Krzeszowice (Poland) – Cyclist Iveta Miculyčová had a busy evening before today's gold final. First, at the opening ceremony of the European Games, she played the role of flag bearer, and then she also did assignments to hand them in before midnight. Despite this, the 17-year-old Czech defended the continental title in the Olympic freestyle BMX discipline.
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She accepted the honorary role of flag bearer, even though the opening was between her qualification and the final. And the evening did not end with the ceremony for her. “As soon as I got back from the opening, I ran to my room to write the homework that I had to send that day, so I sent it at 11:59 p.m.,” she told reporters.
She couldn't sleep for a while because of the heat. “But it was fine, I fell asleep fine afterwards, I concentrated on the ride, I kept going over it in my head, where, what, what to do, what trick to be 100% focused, I didn't let anything throw me off. And it worked out,” she smiled se.
She scored 82.33 points for the second final run and further improved her position from the first round, after which she led. “In the beginning, I didn't want to believe it at all. I broke out in a cold sweat that it might actually happen, and then I was already watching my opponents,” recounted Miculyčová. She was hoping for gold. “I wasn't 100% sure because I have a lot of competition here, so it was 50/50, but it worked out.”
She raced with her right hand bandaged. “I've had it since two weeks ago, I was training and I scraped my hand because I was riding without gloves, when it healed after a week, I fell again and scraped it again. So I have it covered so that if it happens again she fell so it wouldn't happen to me again,” she explained. It didn't limit her in any way. “I already have a fresh new cuticle there, but any stronger movement on it would tear it again and it would have to be treated from the beginning.”
A year after the European title in Munich, she looked around among the elite. “People are getting to know me more, I have more friends in BMX, I've already included myself among them. I already belong among them and I also feel more confident in riding,” said the bronze medalist from last year's WC.
It proves that belongs to the world's top. She would like to get to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and try to succeed there. “By the fact that it's not just my dream, because the other girls also want to be there, so they'll also have to put in a lot of effort, they'll have some tricks up their sleeve that no one will know about. I hope there's a chance, but I don't know how big ,” she reflected.
Freestyle BMX will be on the Olympic program for the second time. Twelve men and twelve women will compete in Paris, with one place in each category reserved for France as host. Medalists from this year's WC will be guaranteed a start, most places will be allocated next year from March to June in a series of qualifying races.
