America's Day earns Olympic BMX spot

Californian BMXer Mike Day won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team BMX Trials on June 14, earning the second automatic men's nomination to the squad that will represent the United States later this summer in Beijing.

Day won the multi-heat competition in convincing fashion by winning three of four heats and placing second in the other - a performance so dominating that Day was officially declared the winner before the finals. After four heats, Day's advantage in the overall classification had rendered the remaining six competitors mathematically out of contention, negating the need to contest the finals.

Day began the morning with a victory in the individual time trial when he clocked a winning time of 36.60 seconds. Twenty minutes later he added to his advantage with a win in the first seven-man, head-to-head moto. Entering the second moto with a comfortable 15-8 advantage over Donny Robinson, Day finished second in the competition's third heat, as his lead in the points standings was cut to 22-18 over Robinson.

In the third moto, Day again crossed the line in first to secure 10 points while Robinson's fourth-place effort only yielded an additional 3. Mathematically, Day was untouchable and the finals were cancelled with Day holding a 32-21 advantage over Robinson.

Day joins automatic qualifiers Kyle Bennett and Jill Kintner who ended the 2008 season as the top-ranked athletes in USA Cycling's men's and women's BMX Rankings respectively.

(Editorial assistance and research provided by Susan Westemeyer)