GOLD for Corby as BMX Olympian Charlotte Worthington flips her way to the top

The athletes had two runs to impress the judges with the biggest score counting
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Corby s BMX rider Charlotte Worthington has won gold at the Tokyo Olympic Games after producing a stunning second run in the Women's Freestyle event.

Seeded 4th, the 25-year-old beat the field with a sensational Backflip 360 - a trick never previously seen in a women's freestyle BMX competition.

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Charlotte thanked the people of Corby after she recovered from a fall on her first run to win the thrilling final beating rival USA rival Hannah Roberts to the top of the podium.

Charlotte celebrates her gold medalCharlotte celebrates her gold medal
Charlotte celebrates her gold medal

A beaming Charlotte told reporters: "A massive shout out to everyone in Corby - thank you for welcoming me while I've been training for this.

"It's kind of unreal, I've been waiting to wake up - it still feels like I'm dreaming."

Charlotte, who has been training at Adrenaline Alley in the town, needed a big score in her second and final run and landed the Backflip 360 early on in the minute-long routine.

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She had kept on the pressure on her rivals, following up with a series of gravity-defying tricks on the ramps and obstacles at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.

Charlotte's Backflip 360 won her the top spotCharlotte's Backflip 360 won her the top spot
Charlotte's Backflip 360 won her the top spot

Scoring 97.5 in her second run, world champion Hannah Roberts, who had scored 96.1 in the first round, could not catch Charlotte after cutting her second short.

Charlotte said: "I didn't put any pressure on myself, I tried to focus on enjoying myself and take it one trick at a time. It was incredible. I've not been doing that trick for that long but we've been trying to find that big 'banger' trick and when we found it we thought this is the one. I wouldn't have any of those tricks if it wasn't for Hannah.

She added :"It's a lot of hard work that's paid off."

Mandy Young, founder of Adrenaline Alley who had stayed up to watch the final, commented on their Facebook page simply saying: "Soooooo proud!!!!"

Final results: C. Worthington, Great Britain - 97.50; H. Roberts, United States - 96.10; N. Ducarroz, Switzerland - 89.20.

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