Medalist Daniel Dhers
Olympic Silver Medalist: Freestyle BMX
Men’s BMX Freestyle Park
SL: You’re the first-ever Olympic silver medalist for BMX Freestyle. This is the first time it’s been an Olympic event. Have you said that out loud yet?
Daniel: I haven’t. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.
SL: Will you say it out loud?
Daniel: That I am the BMX Freestyle Silver Medalist? [laughs] Yeah—that’s the first time I’ve said it. It is kinda wild. I felt like when I woke up this morning here in Holly Springs, it’s like this whole thing has been a dream. I keep going through what I’ve lived these past 10 days at Olympic Village, and I feel like it’s been a dream and I just woke up. I do have the medal to prove that it wasn’t a dream [laughing].
SL: You’re no stranger to being on the podium on the world stage. Five-time X-Games gold medal winner, among countless other events. How was this time different from all the others?
Daniel: There are a few different aspects. For one, I was thinking this was going to be more toward the end of my career; but now I’m not so sure. I think I can make it to Paris in 2024. It was awesome to get included into the Olympic Games because it definitely refreshed my sense of competition. I feel like for a while there I was getting stagnant. It’s kinda been the same ol’, same ol’. This experience was crazy.
I had a couple of different goals when I was there. I had a personal goal of trying to win a medal, then the BMX goal that this would be bragging rights for the next few decades [laughs]. I’m very lucky to have had this opportunity because it happened in “my time.” Some of the guys that I used to ride with, and that rode before me, didn’t have the opportunity to compete since the event is new to the Olympics. I almost didn’t have the opportunity. I wasn’t sure if I was going to try to compete or not. Once the announcement was made that it would be in the Olympics, I had to keep riding and be in it. Now I’m thinking about 2024. Why not?
SL: Venezuela started competing in the games in 1948. Between 1948 and the 2016 games, they have taken home two gold medals, two silver medals and ten bronze medals, total. Now you’re bringing them another silver to add to the count. How does that make you feel?
Daniel: It feels great because I know how much this means to the country. Venezuela is a country that’s been in conflict for the last 20 years. Sports, along with these medals—not just mine but all the Venezuelan competitors—have brought a sense of reassurance to the people there. The residents are so happy that we’re winning medals. I know what this means to the country. I think this helps to quiet all the political problems that we’ve had there for the last 20 years. We’ll see as time goes on, but I do see people back home uniting over sports; kinda healing the wounds. It seems people are being more civil about everything. There’s not much I can do, but if I can bring happiness through sports, so be it. That’s why I knew not just how important this medal was going to be for me personally, but also how important this would be for the whole community, the whole country. I want to focus in the future on what I can do for my community and the society back at home.
SL: That leads me to my next question. Help me understand why athletes live in the U.S. but compete for other countries.
Daniel: I’ve been competing for Venezuela for about 15 years. I became a U.S. citizen a few years ago. I have dual citizenship. I was born there, and started my BMX riding there, but if I wanted to develop further and be one of the best, I knew I had to ride with the best. That could only happen here in the States. That’s where all the best riders were. Ryan Nyquist, Jamie Bestwick, Dave Mirra—all of those guys lived in the States. The only way to get better is to be with people better than you. I’ve always loved being in the States, which is why I eventually became a resident and became a citizen. Although I represent Venezuela, I feel like this medal is as much American as it is Venezuelan. I formed most of my big competitive years here in the States. When we talk about the countries and the medal counts, yes you may represent one country, but you have a lot of other countries that were part of it. I lived in Argentina for a while, and I can say that living there was part of what formed me into the athlete I am today. Because that was the first time I was riding with better riders, although I knew that they weren’t the absolute best. I had to go where the best were, and that was here in North Carolina.
SL: How were the accommodations in the Olympic Village?
Daniel: The accommodations were really good. People were complaining about the beds; the beds were fine. I heard about the food, too. The food was fine. There were two stories full of food from everywhere around the world. Anything you could imagine was there. I’m very picky when it comes to food, and I didn’t have an issue. They had a lot of Japanese food, too, which was awesome. A lot of Udon noodles. I think I had noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every time I went to the diner I was having Udon noodles.
SL: Was the lockdown hard to deal with?
Daniel: It would have been good to go sight-see in Tokyo, but you’re so exhausted from your practice and your events, that if I would have done it, it would have only been a couple of times, and I was there for 10 days. I did get to go around Tokyo because I had to go to a couple of studios for interviews, so I did get to see Tokyo from a car, but I hope to go sight-see Tokyo in the future.
SL: How do you think having your sport in the Olympics is going to change the sport here in the U.S. and worldwide?
Daniel: I think the sport is going to get a lot more support all around the world. Countries are becoming sponsors. Before, it was just private industry, and now you have all of this public funding coming into the sport. Facilities are being developed now. It was starting to gain momentum coming into Tokyo, but now after the Olympics, I think you’re going to see a big change. Our sport is incredibly visual. Even if you don’t understand the sport, when people watch it, they’re blown away. It’s a very dramatic competition. You don’t know who’s going to win until the event is over.
SL: I would argue that it’s as exciting as watching gymnastics. It’s also the only other sport that has as many falls as gymnastics.
Daniel: [Laughs] Especially at the time of the contest. It’s crazy how we have predictions [of who will win] and then everything goes out the window. There are a lot of nerves, especially at the Olympics. On top of that, you’re trying to pack your hardest tricks into 60 seconds. My run was 15 years in the making. I started with a trick I’d never done before in competition, and in the middle of the run I did a trick I invented in 2005, and later another one I invented in 2009.
SL: So, in gymnastics, if you’re the first athlete ever to compete a new skill in an international competition, it gets named after you. Why is the Cash Roll not named the Dhers?
Daniel: [Laughs] I named it though. I named it the Cash Roll. Back in 2009, Little Wayne was hot, and talking about cash money. There are all different rolls in my sport; I thought, okay—this is the Cash Roll.
SL: Is there anyone specific that you’d like to give a shout-out to for helping you get to where you are as a competitor?
Daniel: That would be a crazy list. Definitely my parents. Without their teachings I wouldn’t be here. Obviously Dave Mirra. He groomed me into who I am today, with all the motivation and all the doors that he helped open. [Jamie] Bestwick was also a great mentor, especially in those first few events. When I was having a meltdown, he would come and say three things to me, and I’d calm down and win the event. The people of Venezuela have giving me massive support through my whole career. The people here in North Carolina—from Holly Springs all the way to Greenville. The Woodward Camp also helped form me. It would be a long list if I named everyone.
SL: Is there someone specific that you were hoping was watching when you realized you won the silver?
Daniel: I was hoping my family was watching. They were all losing their minds when I talked to them. It was good to see them on the screen when I won, but I couldn’t hear anything there.
SL: I can’t image that 12-year-old Daniel thought he would be an Olympian when he started riding. What advice would you give him if you could talk to him now?
Daniel: I’m not sure what I could tell him. I was talking with a friend of mine about how 20-something years ago we’d get kicked out of street spots, we couldn’t get in an elevator with our bikes, all sorts of things. And now I’m an Olympic medalist. Now, I’m flying home from Tokyo, and I get on a plane and I’m announced. I didn’t know how far I could reach when I started riding bikes, but I knew it was something I wanted to do. It’s crazy to look back today, but I don’t think I would have changed anything.
SL: You’re flying out after the interview. Where are you headed?
Daniel: I’m going to Spain tomorrow. There’s an event there this weekend, and they’ve been good to me for a long time.
SL: An event? As in a competition? You’re going to compete?
Daniel: Yeah—I do what I do. The work is never over. If I can’t fall asleep at home in the next hour, I’ll probably go to the gym. I don’t stop. I’m sure that I’ll probably take a little break at some point, but when I say a break, I mean instead of riding for three hours, I’ll ride for one and a half. Instead of going to the gym for seven days a week, maybe I’ll go four.
I’ve gotten used to being on my program, and I enjoy riding. I think if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t do it. I also know how difficult it is to come back if you stop riding. I’ve noticed that it makes a difference if you keep training. The past month and a half, I was riding constantly and going to the gym every day. I could tell the difference when I was competing.
SL: What are your plans moving forward? Will you continue to compete?
Daniel: I definitely want to ride in the Pan Am Games in Chile in 2023. I really enjoyed them in 2019. If I’m going to ride in that, it’s only one more year to go for the 2024 games in Paris.
SL: When we spoke before the Olympics, a few years ago, you thought after the Olympics that you’d be done riding. What changed?
Daniel: The Olympics were announced in 2017, and I won the World Tour that year. I figured the Olympics were only three years away, and I was pretty sure I could make it. I made it and won a medal. Now I’m in the same spot again. Paris is only three years away, and I just won a medal, so why not go for it?
SL: Do you plan to continue to live in Holly Springs for a little while?
Daniel: I think so. I love living here. It’s pretty quiet; I have my training facility here. A lot of the Olympic and pro riders have moved here to train at the facility. Now I have a good crew of high-level riders here. There are also a lot of new kids coming through the doors with a lot of talent. I like the town, it’s cozy, and now there are a lot more things to do here than even seven years ago when I opened.
SL: What’s your favorite thing about Holly Springs?
Daniel: I think it’s the sense of community. Everybody here is trying to work together to form a better society. I would like to take that concept to Venezuela and make my community there a little better.
It’s crazy how much the town has grown. Aside from these crazy left-turns that seem a little insane to me, everything else seems like they do take the time to plan. This doesn’t happen by accident. It seems like there’s a plan. You get smart people together, and they can build a good community.
SL: Is there something about you that you think our readers would be surprised to know?
Daniel: I’ve done the Rubik’s Cube in under a minute. And I speak three languages fluently, and I can get by in three more. The Rubik’s Cube one always surprises people.
You can follow Daniel @danieldhers
