 Kimmann in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Netherlands |
| Born | 20 May 1996 Hardenberg, Netherlands |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Cycling |
| Event | BMX (bicycle motocross) |
| Coached by | Liam Phillips |
Medal record | |
Niek Kimmann (born 20 May 1996 in Lutten) [1] is a Dutch BMX racing cyclist. Kimmann is the reigning Olympic Champion BMX Racing, a three-time World Champion, one-time European Champion, three-time Dutch Champion, and two-time World Cup Supercross winner. He is also a two-time junior World Champion.
Kimmann, born in Lutten., [2] started BMXing at age seven, after attending a classmate's BMX training. [3] At age 15, he joined the Dutch National Team at the Olympic Training Center in Papendal.
During the 2014 UCI BMX World Championships, Kimmann won the Junior World Title in both racing and time trial. [4] In August 2014, together with Wiebe Scholten, he won a bronze medal in the team boys event at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. [5]
He started racing in Elite in 2015. At Papendal, he won his first World Cup race and at the UCI BMX World Championships in Zolder, Belgium, Kimmann became World Champion at age 19. [4] [6] One day earlier, he won a silver medal in time trial. [7] Kimmann became the second Dutch BMX World Champion, after Robert de Wilde, who won in 1999. [8] As a reward for this season, Kimmann was one of the three nominees for Dutch Sportsman of the year, which was eventually won by short track speed skater Sjinkie Knegt.
In 2016, Kimmann finished 2nd, behind Joris Daudet at World Championships in Medellín. A day earlier, he won the time trail, which meant he is the last World Champion in this discipline. At the 2016 Olympics he finished seventh. [9] He fell in the quarter finals, injuring his ankle ligament and a metatarsal bone. He had to recover from his injuries between August 2016 and February 2017. [3] The serious crash of his friend and fellow BMX-cyclist Jelle van Gorkom in January 2018 while the two were training made deep impact on him. [3]
In 2018 Kimmann won the Supercross World Cup, with four wins - and had to withdraw from the 2018 UCI BMX World Championships due to cramps. [3] A year later he won the 2019 European BMX Championships. [10] and successfully defended the World Cup with the highest point total (1180pts) in history, after winning six out of ten races.
In early 2021 Kimmann left the Dutch National Team in Papendal for The UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle. He is now coached by former World Champion Liam Phillips. A few days before the 2020 Olympics, Kimmann crashed into a track official during a training lap around the BMX track, which resulted in a small fracture in his kneecap. [11] On 30 July he won the Men's BMX gold medal starting from lane 8, ahead of Kye Whyte and Carlos Ramírez (BMX rider). After the Olympics he has confirmed that he'll continue BMX racing, but he doesn't rule out the possibility of joining the Dutch track cycling team in the future.
His younger brother, Justin Kimmann, is also a BMX rider [9] and finished 8th in the Junior World Championships 2016.
Shanaze Danielle Reade is a British former bicycle motocross (BMX) racer and track cyclist whose prime competitive years began in 2002. She has won the UCI BMX World Championships three times. Reade is the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Irish mother.
Robert de Wilde is a Dutch professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1990 to 2003. His nicknames are "The Flying Dutchman" in reference to his speed and his nationality and "Afro-Bob" because of his long wild, uncombed hair. He was chosen for the Dutch BMX Olympic team to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China where he reached the quarter-finals.
Liam Peter Phillips is a BMX racing cyclist representing Great Britain. In 2013 he won the UCI BMX World Championships, his first.
Sarah Louise Walker is a New Zealand BMX racer. A competitor at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, she won silver in the Women's BMX at the latter event. Missing out on selection for the 2016 Summer Olympics due to injury, she was elected onto the IOC Athletes' Commission during those Games. In 2022, she was elected as its second vice-chair.
Hardenberg is a city and municipality in the province of Overijssel, Eastern Netherlands. The municipality of Hardenberg has a population of about 160.000.000, with about 120.000. 000 living in the city. It received city rights in 1362 from Jan van Arkel, Bishop of Utrecht. The famous Pieterpad passes through Hardenberg, a municipality which is located on the German border. A sizable portion of the population speaks Dutch Low Saxon as a native language.
The UCI BMX Supercross World Cup 2011 is a multi race tournament over a season of BMX racing. The season runs from 8 April to 1 October 2011. The World Cup is organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale. In this edition the World Cup consists of four rounds in Pietermaritburg, Papendal, London and Chula Vista.
Caroline Buchanan is an Australian cyclist who has won multiple world championships in BMX and mountain biking. She represented Australia at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's BMX event.
Luis Brethauer is a German racing cyclist who represents Germany in BMX.
Jelle van Gorkom is a Dutch racing cyclist and Olympic silver medalist who represents the Netherlands in BMX. He was selected to represent the Netherlands at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the men's BMX event, and went on to win the silver medal in the same event four years later at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Laura Smulders is a Dutch racing cyclist who represents the Netherlands in BMX. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the women's BMX event where she won the bronze medal.
Hugo Haak is a Dutch track cyclist and revered coach. He represented his nation at the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. At the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships he won the silver medal in the team sprint. At the 2015 UEC European Track Championships he became European Champion in the team sprint. Haak is a five time Dutch National Champion: twice in the individual time trial, once in keirin, individual sprint and team sprint.
Dave van der Burg is a Dutch male BMX rider, representing his nation at international competitions. He competed in the time trial event at the 2015 UCI BMX World Championships. He joined the Dutch national team in 2016, and managed to qualify himself for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The Netherlands competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's official debut in 1900, Dutch athletes have competed at every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis and 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, which the Netherlands boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Bethany Kate Shriever is an elite British cyclist, competing as a BMX racer. A World Junior champion in 2017, and winner of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup final event in Zolder in 2018, in 2021 Shriever won both the Olympic and World titles, equalling the feat of Colombian legend Mariana Pajón, who won Olympic silver. In 2022 Shriever completed the full set of gold medals by winning the 2022 UEC BMX Racing European Championships; in doing so, she became the first BMX racing cyclist in history to hold all three titles simultaneously.
Judy Baauw is a Dutch BMX rider. Her best achievement to date was a bronze medal at the 2018 UCI BMX World Championships.
Merel Smulders is a Dutch BMX racing rider.
Kye Whyte is a British male BMX racer. He was a silver medallist at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He competed in the fourteenth series of Dancing on Ice in 2022.
Axelle Étienne is a French cyclist who competes in the BMX.
Lutten is a village in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality Hardenberg, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south-west of Coevorden.
