A Jacksonville woman and BMX rider who recently earned her spot to the 2024 Paris Olympics just took gold at the X Games Ventura last month. This year was the first female BMX riders have ever been allowed to medal at the X Games.
Hannah Roberts is 22 years old and a Michigan native, but she moved to North Carolina at age 17 for better training accessibility, according to previous reporting by The Daily News. After spending about a year in Raleigh, Roberts bought a house in Jacksonville.
At age 12, Roberts took second in her first professional women’s event. According to the USA Cycling website, she is a five-time Union Cycliste Internationale world champion, became the first-ever BMX Freestyle World Champion at the inaugural UCI World Championships in China, and in 2019, became the first woman to ever land a 360-Tailwhip in competition.
Roberts was the gold-hopeful for Team USA at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics but broke her foot just six weeks before the games. Despite the injury, she still took home silver.
Just last month, Roberts won the Budapest Olympic Qualifier, securing her spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics, set to begin later this month. Roberts will be heading into the games on a high after taking gold at the X Games Ventura at the end of June.
This year was the first women riders were allowed to medal in BMX, so Roberts makes history as the first woman gold medal winner. Roberts previously told The Daily News she fell in love with BMX when she was eight because of the X Games, so this victory is likely extra special.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are set to begin Friday, July 26, and Roberts will be competing for Team USA in BMX Freestyle.
