BMXer says hairstyle helped him get Olympic silver

Kieran Reilly takes a selfie with the Argentine gold medal winner, Jose Torres Gil, and France's Anthony Jeanjean

A BMX rider said his hairstyle played a major role in securing an Olympic silver medal.

Kieran Reilly, 23, who trains at Adrenaline Alley in Corby, Northamptonshire, has a distinctive mullet which had "done its job" in the men's BMX freestyle event.

He is already the BMX Freestyle world champion, and performed the world's first triple flair on his bike.

He said his trademark hairstyle was originally the result of a barber's error.

Kieran Reilly scored 93.91 in his second run to take silver behind Argentina's Jose Torres Gil, who scored 94.82.

Kieran Reilly moved 200 miles from his home in Gateshead to the Northamptonshire town of Corby to train at the internationally-famous Adrenaline Alley urban sports venue.

He has had the mullet, characterised by short hair at the front and sides and long locks at the back, since last year's European Championships, where he took gold.

He said: "I've had it since the Euros and it did me well there.

"I used to get a taper fade, I went the barber and they botched it so I thought it was an ideal time to grow it out."

He added that he did well when the hairstyle made its competition debut, so he "decided I quite like it and I'm going with it".

He said he was "not superstitious but it's done its job".

Kieran Reilly's silver follows a gold and a bronze for Adrenaline Alley at Tokyo 2020

Reilly does accept that his decision to move south in search of better BMX facilities also played its part.

He said: "I literally saw a direct correlation with the best results I've ever had since moving. My riding just sky-rocketed.

"Every time I'm in [Adrenaline Alley], there's BMX teams and riders from around the world. So you're around the best people to train with."

Reilly said he had been preparing for three years for a minute-long routine in Paris

Paris 2024 was his first Olympic Games and he discovered he was "eager to get out there and show everything I've prepared.

"Knowing that it's once every four years, obviously the nerves come to that, in the fact that I can't redeem myself in a year's time.

"All this work for the last three years since Tokyo has been for that one minute I had on the course and it was a crazy, crazy feeling being there."

Champions from across the world train at Adrenaline Alley

Reilly was not the first Olympian to be trained in Corby; Charlotte Worthington and Declan Brooks won gold and bronze respectively at Tokyo three years ago.

Reilly said: "Watching Charlotte and Declan like that was what pretty much motivated me to put my eggs in this basket of going to the games.

"It made me want to set that goal of coming here - the biggest sporting stage in the world.

"Being able to do what I love in front of everyone, that's the new dream."