Liam Peter Phillips (born 11 March 1989) is a BMX

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

representing

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. In 2013 he won the

UCI BMX World Championships UCI BMX World Championships are the world championships for BMX racing (bicycle motocross) held under the regulations of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport's international governing body. The UCI BMX World Championships are held an ...

, his first. Having been cycling from the age of 5, he took up competitive BMX whilst a junior and won ten consecutive British titles. He won his first European title in 1999, and represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics, at the 2012 Summer Olympics (despite having broken his collarbone shortly before) and at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Born at

Musgrove Park Hospital Musgrove Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital located in Taunton, Somerset, England, run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Originally a US Army General Hospital during the Second World War, it became an NHS hospital in 1951. History The 67th ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

, he was raised in

Burnham-on-Sea Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort. ...

and attended The King Alfred School. He began cycling at the age of five years, and often raced his sister. Both of his parents were involved in BMX with his father being a former national coach, and helped to found the local BMX club in Burnham.

Cycling career

Between the ages of five and fourteen, he was the winner of ten consecutive British BMX titles. In 1999 he won the European BMX Championship for the first time, and joined the Olympic Academy Programme in 2005. In 2008 he was selected for the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China as a competitor in the men's BMX. It was the first time the sport had been featured in an Olympic Games as an official sport; Phillips placed seventh in the second heat and was eliminated from the competition. He was injured at the

2010 UCI BMX World Championships The 2010 UCI BMX World Championships took place in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and crowned world champions in the cycling discipline of BMX. For the first time, there were no titles awarded in the Cruiser class Medal summary References ...

in South Africa, damaging his shoulder during the second moto. In early 2011 he began training with the British track cycling team, eventually being considered as one of the members of the squad's men's sprint team. He decided to make the switch from BMX due to the reduced chance of injury in track racing. During this period he was a member of the sprint team that placed third at the British National Team Sprint Championships in September 2011. However, it was announced in October 2011 that he had decided to return to BMX, which resulted in the media considering him to be one of the best prospects to represent Great Britain in the men's BMX at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Having taken the silver medal in the time trial at the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships held at the National Indoor Arena in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, the following day Philips broke his

collarbone The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the right ...

during the morning's Moto 1 race. This resulted in him requiring surgery to insert a metal plate, and put his selection for the 2012 Games in doubt. However, he was chosen for the British team despite the injury and was still aiming for a win at the Olympics, saying "The goal is gold, without a doubt. I'm training not to be a medal winner but to be Olympic champion." In 2014 Phillips became the first British male rider to win the

UCI BMX Supercross World Cup UCI BMX Racing World Cup is a series of events for BMX racing (bicycle motorcross) held under the regulations of the Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world gov ...

, becoming the first rider to win two back-to-back BMX World Cup titles when he took a second series win in 2015.

Personal life

He lives in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, close to the

National Indoor BMX Arena The National Indoor BMX Arena is an indoor BMX racing facility, located in Sportcity, Manchester, United Kingdom. The arena was designed by Ellis Williams Architects and built by contractors Sir Robert McAlpine. It is situated next to the Manches ...

. He likes to play golf in his spare time.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Liam 1989 births Living people BMX riders English male cyclists Olympic cyclists of Great Britain Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics UCI BMX World Champions (elite men) People from Burnham-on-Sea