'Perris in Paris': US BMX rider Perris Benegas surges to take silver in Paris Olympics

Editor's note: Follow today's action from Paris here.

PARIS – Perris medaling in Paris. And no, you're not the first to connect the dots between the nearly identical pronunciations.

American Perris Benegas won the silver medal in women's BMX freestyle Wednesday at the Place de la Concorde with two clean runs. Her second, which carried over her emphasis on soaring through the air to impress the judges, ended with a score of 90.70.

"That's actually the first time I've heard 'Perris in Paris.' No, I'm just kidding," Benegas said, with a flash of a smile.

After the finals, Benegas said she didn’t pressure herself to medal. She told herself it was another minute on the bike.

“I just wanted to go out there and put a run down that I was stoked on, personally,” Benegas said. “I managed to accomplish that. Cherry on top, I get to leave with a medal.”

Yawen Deng of China took gold, while Australia's Natalya Diehm won bronze. American Hannah Roberts, the 22-year-old front-runner and five-time world champion, was eighth because she fell during both runs – a disappointing result given she entered the finals with the best score from Tuesday.

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Benegas finished the first of two heats, 60 seconds each, with a score of 83.40 on Wednesday. She found herself in fourth, the position in which she qualified for the final. Her second run had a higher degree of difficulty and the judges rewarded the courage.

Benegas finished fourth in Tokyo, where BMX freestyle made its Olympic debut.

“I was obviously hungrier coming here,” she said.

The 29-year-old had an uphill battle to make Paris in the first place. In June 2023, she had ACL-LCL-meniscus surgery to repair a devastating knee injury.

The second the injury occurred, she said, one of the first thoughts that popped into her head was making it to Paris.

"During the whole thing, obviously, I have highs and lows. The lows are really low," Benegas said. "And luckily I was surrounded by amazing people who were able to motivate me and inspire me to keep going during that time. But yes, this was always in the back of my head, and yeah, just being here was such a win. Walking away with a medal was huge."

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Once she had recovered and rehabbed, Benegas got back on the bike (literally) in May.

"That has been quite the grind from day one ... I just did everything I could, put my head down and got to work," Benegas said.

After the Tokyo Games, she also underwent shoulder surgery. The knee injuries were another hurdle. Making it to the Olympics was enough for her, she said.

“I’m just, honestly, so grateful to be here, to have the opportunity to ride again today,” Benegas said.

Benegas' family and girlfriend were watching in the stands and once she finished her media obligations, the Nevada native made a beeline to give them the most satisfying hugs of her life.

"They're my biggest support," Benegas said. "To be able to share this moment with them, it means the world to me."

Disappointment for Hannah Roberts in BMX freestyle

Roberts had her work cut out for her after a big run from Deng in the first heat. But she was cruising into contention when her foot slipped and she "had no pop," no momentum, to move forward as she went into a front flip in the final seconds.

"Just an unfortunate mistake, but I was too far into it to not do it," Roberts said.

The pressure was on Roberts going into the last heat. As the final competitor, she had the last say. But she fell on her first trick.

“I usually captivate on those moments,” she lamented.

It was a trick she does every day – the flip bar. Her feet slipped again.

“I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But I’m human, I make mistakes and today wasn’t my day,” she said.

Roberts is 10 days away from turning 23 and the goal is to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“No matter what, I’m just stoked to be able to be doing this. It’s a dream come true; obviously the goal is to win the gold medal at the Olympics," Roberts said. "But at the same time, it doesn’t need to happen. I have a very accomplished career at 22, and I’m just looking at continuing to get better no matter what.”

And Roberts was elated nonetheless for Benegas.

“There’s nobody more hard-working than Perris … just watching her mentality, going through rehab and going through the gym, and getting right back into where we started, that’s super impressive," Roberts said. "Perris is one hell of a badass, on and off the bike. She’s a lovely person. She’s probably one of my best friends.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Perris Benegas, US BMX rider, surges to silver in Paris