Jamie Bestwick (born 8 July 1971 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) is a British BMX rider. He won 13 gold medals in the BMX Vert event at the

X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...

, and one gold medal for Vert Best Trick. He started riding BMX with his friends at 10 years old. Jamie only competed in BMX events for fun. Riding his bike was just a way to hang out with his friends. After he finished school, his first priority was working as an engineer for Rolls-Royce in England and he thought that was going to be his career. However, he decided to quit his job and become a professional BMX rider. Jamie competed in his first

in 1996. He ended

Dave Mirra David Michael Mirra (April 4, 1974 – February 4, 2016) was an American BMX rider who also competed in rallycross racing. He set the record for most medals in BMX Freestyle at the X Games (later tied by Scotty Cranmer) and earned at least on ...

’s BMX three-year Vert reign in 2000, taking home the gold. He gradually became unbeatable. He won every single competition he entered in 2005. He won silver at X Games 2015, losing after winning 9 years in a row Bestwick has also won a

Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sportsperson of the Year The Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sportsperson of the Year, known as the Alternative Sportsperson of the Year prior to 2007, is an annual award honouring the achievements of individual athletes from the world of action sports. It was firs ...

and been nominated for a

Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award The Best Male Action Sports Athlete ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male athlete from the world of action sports. It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2004 after the non-gender-specific Best Action Spo ...

. In 2014, Bestwick spoke at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

alongside Ken Hill, Scott Russell, and

Nick Ienatsch Nick Ienatsch (last name pronounced "Eye-Notch", born 1961 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin) is an American motorcycle racer, writer, and motorcycle riding instructor. Racing ARRA #1 plate at Willow Springs Raceway 1989, 1990 WERA Grand National Finals ...

about motorcycle racing and success. In 2006 he performed in Cirque Rocks a charity circus held in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He acted as coach to

Charlotte Worthington Charlotte Worthington (born 26 June 1996) is a British cyclist and Olympic gold medallist who competes internationally in Freestyle BMX. Biography Worthington was born in 1996. Worthington took up BMX seriously at the age of 20, and worked ful ...

when she won the gold medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

and Declan Brooks when he won Bronze Medal at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bestwick, Jamie 1971 births Living people BMX riders Sportspeople from Nottingham Laureus World Sports Awards winners