Podcast – Choosing the British BMX Olympic Team for 1984 (LA) & 1988 (Seoul)

New British BMX Hall of Fame Podcast (on Apple Podcasts and Spotify) with Paul Roberts.

In this episode, we discuss two new projects I’ve been working on: documenting the rankings and results of UKBMX and NBMXA, and later EBA, including the Ranking/British Championships and Champion of Champions, starting in 1981 (the first year of national racing in the UK for UKBMX, with NBMXA being added in 1983). We also have some fun imagining if BMX racing had been in the Olympics during the 80s and 90s.

Who would have made the British teams, starting with the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and then the 1988 Seoul Olympics?

There are some great debates when picking a 1984 three-man British Men’s Olympic Team. Who would go? Andy Ruffell, Tim March, Pete Middleton, Alan Woods, Trev Robinson, and others were among the top UK Superclass riders at the time, but we also have to consider some of the top British amateurs from 1984: Craig Schofield, Gary Llewellyn, Geth Shooter, Charlie Reynolds, John Vile, and Martin Jose were all fast – could any of them make the team? We also debated whether Gary Llewellyn was faster than Geth Shooter.

We repeat the process for the 1988 Seoul Team. Who would go – Geth Shooter? Neal Wood? Tom Lynch? Tony Fleming? Damon Parkinson? Darren O’Neill? Winnie Wright? Anthony Revell? Lee Alexander? Andy Welsh? Kim Carbutt? Could that 16 year old Dale guy make it in as a reserve? Would Tim March and Ruffell have made the team if they had delayed their retirements to make a run for it? Someone else?

What about the women? Would Lulu Adeyemo be on the plane to Seoul? Would Sarah-Jane Nichols, who retired in 1987, have stuck around in 1988 for a shot at Seoul? Had she already made the 1984 team? Julie Woodward, Claire Edwards, Lisa Wright – would they have made the team?

Quick fact checks/corrections from this podcast:

•Trev Stamford did not win the final NBMXA Pro race in 1988 at Runnymede – it was Tony Fleming.

•The PRA did not come to an end immediately after the 1986 Slough World Championships.

Check it out if you’re into UK race trivia and history. If you enjoy it, let us know – we’d love to keep picking Olympic teams from the 80s and 90s, including some of the major BMX racing countries.

Cheers.