Štrombergs. As well as his 2016 medal, Fields made a strong showing in 2012, winning both his heat and the semi-final only to finish seventh in the final.
Successive medals were high on the list of Fields’ priorities heading into the Tokyo Games in 2020, but sadly the situation around the world meant a hiatus, with the event now scheduled for 2021. In their infographic on cancelled sporting events, Bwin report how all major sports have been affected by the problem the world has faced in 2020, not just the Olympics. Euro 2020 will now take place a year later, with many other yearly events also severely affected
including the Formula One season and Tennis majors.
It is the cancellation of the Olympics which tops the billing though, as the oldest games in the world and something which almost every nation on the planet has a vested interest in. His Olympics pedigree sparked hope Fields was again to be amongst the medals and he admitted that it was tough, not just losing the Olympics, but having no events at all to compete in.
“It’s been tough, especially after the cancelation of the Olympics — that was the hardest with no events on the calendar,” Fields said. “I had no idea what was going on. In the early stages of the pandemic, there was a lot of fear because nobody knew how bad this was going to get. For me, I am pretty regimented with my schedule. I am super goal-oriented, so I push myself to get there.”
Fields was named the 2020 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup champion following the cancellation of the final two races of the season, finding out on social media. Fields won the opening event of the season in Shepparton, Australia, before repeating that success the next day. He then led after the first round in Bathurst, prior to the early curtailment of the season. Whilst being crowned World Cup champion was a huge event for Fields, he admitted he still felt upset at having to miss his third Olympics.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’ve thought about all the what-ifs with what is going on,” he added. “I was ready for my third Olympics, I had a lot of confidence and calm because I knew what was coming. Well, the joke was on me, because we had something happen like that, which we’ve never seen before. It changed everything and left everybody around the world with a lot of uncertainty about how things are going to happen next year. I just am going to stay ready.”
Fields first race back in the saddle is expected to take place Nov. 26-29 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is hopefully the first step towards his double-Olympics dream, albeit a year later than planned.