Mike Day (born October 9, 1984) is an American
bicycle motocross (BMX) cyclist who has competed professionally since 1994. He won the silver medal in the men's BMX at the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Nickname
Day's official
Union Cycliste Internationale
The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland.
The UCI issues raci ...
(UCI) number - which was originally assigned to him by the
American Bicycle Association - is #365, the number of days in a year (with the exception of
leap years). As a result, his number and surname - 365 Day - relates to the common phrase "...365 days per year". The origin of the nickname is explained by Mike:
Introduction to racing
He began cycling at the
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
Raceway on his ninth birthday. He followed his older brother around on his rides so his father decided to take him to a race. His first race bike was a GT Interceptor
Professional career
Day turned professional in April 2002, at the age of 17. His first professional result was second place at the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Winter Nationals in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà :nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
on April 6, 2002. His first professional win was in the "A" pro category at the
National Bicycle League
The National Bicycle League (NBL) was a United States–based Bicycle Motocross (BMX) sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio. It was created by George Edward Es ...
(NBL) Golden State National in
Prunedale, California
Prunedale is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located north of Salinas at an elevation of . The population was 18,885 as of the 2020 census, up from 17,560 in 2010. Plum trees were grown in Prunedal ...
on May 5, 2002 (Day 1) He also won on Day 2 the next day.
In the seniors events, Day's first result was sixth place in "AA" Pro at the ABA Fall Nationals in
Del Mar, California
Del Mar (; Spanish for "Of the Sea") is a beach town in San Diego County, California, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1885 as a seaside resort, the city incorporated in 1959. The Del Mar Horse Races are hosted on the ...
on October 26, 2002. His first win was in "AA" Pro at the ABA World Championship in
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...
on July 23, 2005 (Day2) It took Day three years to obtain his first Senior pro win.
His first race with ''GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles/Red Bull'' was the ABA Silverdollar National in
Reno, Nevada
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
on January 6, 2007
In 2005, Day won the 2005 NORA Cup. Day is a 2008 ABA Golden Crank winner for Pro of the Year.
2008 Summer Olympics
On June 14, 2008 Mike Day won a place on the USA BMX Olympic Team by winning the Team Trial at the
Olympic Training Center
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Spri ...
in
Chula Vista, California. This was the first United States BMX team to compete at the Olympic Games. For six months prior to the Olympics, Day trained at a duplicate of the track to be used in Beijing. Day refrained from competing in the UCI BMX World Championships in Beijing, China which were held two weeks prior.
June 15, 2008 Union Trib article
/ref>
On August 20, Day qualified for the Semi Finals, by winning both the Seeding Run time trials and was the overall winning of the three runnings of his Quarter Finals, sweeping all three. On August 22, Mike Day won the Silver medal in the Men's BMX Final at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, becoming the second American ever to win an Olympic medal for BMX.
:â
Time Trial data from nbcolympics.com
:â
:*'
:**'
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Mike
1984 births
Living people
BMX riders
American male cyclists
Olympic silver medalists for the United States in cycling
Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
People from Tarzana, Los Angeles