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Marcus Christopher

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Marcus Christopher
Personal information
Born (2002-12-31) December 31, 2002 (age 21)
Hartville, Ohio US
Team information
DisciplineFreestyle BMX
RoleRider
Medal record
Men's freestyle BMX
Representing the  United States
X Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Ventura BMX park
Silver medal – second place 2023 Chiba BMX park

Marcus Christopher (born December 31, 2002) is an American professional freestyle BMX rider. He represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

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Christopher was born to Matt and Lori Christopher, and has a younger brother, Charlie. He attended Lake High School in Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio. He turned pro in 2016 at age 13.[1]

Career

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Christopher made his X Games debut at 16 years old in 2019. In May 2023, he won a bronze medal in BMX park in Japan.[2] In July 2023, during the Summer X Games in California he suffered a broken jaw and cheekbone when he overshot his landing spot on a transfer and crashed face-first to the ground. He underwent surgery and had his jaw wired shut for two weeks.[3] In June 2024, he competed at the 2024 Summer X Games in Ventura, California and won a gold medal in BMX park with a score of 95.66, finishing nearly five points ahead of silver medal winner Kevin Peraza.[4][5][6]

2024 Olympics

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In December 2023, Christopher was selected to compete in the 2024 Olympic Qualifier Series.[7] During the second leg of the qualifier series in Budapest, he finished in second place with a score of 92.98.[8] As a result, he qualified to represent United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics where he was the youngest competitor in the field.[9][10] During the men's BMX freestyle event he finished in fourth place with a score of 93.11, just behind France's Anthony Jeanjean score of 93.76.[11] Christopher achieved the best result for United States in men's BMX freestyle at the Olympics.[12]

Competitive history

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All results are sourced from the Union Cycliste Internationale.

As of August 8th, 2024

Olympic Games

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Event Freestyle Park
France 2024 Paris 4th

UCI Cycling World Championships

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Event Freestyle Park
United Arab Emirates 2022 Abu Dhabi 4th

UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup

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Season 1 2 3 4 Rank Points
2022 MON
5
BRU
4
GOL
4
3 2260
2023 DIR
2
MON
3
BRU
12
BAZ
5
4 2830
2024 ENO
8
MON
SHA
 
18 570

References

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  1. ^ Harris, Andy (December 23, 2016). "Lake eighth-grader turns pro in BMX freestyle". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Marcus Christopher". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Weir, Josh (July 25, 2023). "BMX pro Marcus Christopher of Lake recovering after frightening fall at X Games California". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  4. ^ "Olympic BMX and Skateboard Preview & Coverage". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "Men's BMX Park Final on the SONIC Park Course". xgames.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  6. ^ Balint, Ed (July 3, 2024). "The comeback kid: Lake High School grad Marcus Christopher makes Olympics in BMX freestyle". The Repository. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  7. ^ "Lake grad Marcus Christopher selected for IOC's Olympic Qualifier Series in BMX Freestyle". The Repository. December 20, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  8. ^ "Marcus Christopher – USA – qualified second". Olympics.com. June 22, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  9. ^ Palermo, Angelina (July 11, 2024). "USA Cycling Names 23 Athletes to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team". usacycling.org. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  10. ^ Bielik, Tim (July 25, 2024). "Which Northeast Ohio athletes will be competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics?". Cleveland.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  11. ^ Haidet, Ryan (July 31, 2024). "Marcus Christopher of Canton narrowly misses medal after finishing 4th in BMX freestyle finals at 2024 Paris Olympics". WKYC. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  12. ^ Palermo, Angelina (July 31, 2021). "HANNAH ROBERTS WINS SILVER IN BMX FREESTYLE'S OLYMPIC DEBUT AND FIRST MEDAL FOR TEAM USA IN CYCLING". USA Cycling. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
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