I couldn’t be more excited about this one. I had the opportunity to hear Connor Fields speak down at the USA Cycling Coaching Summit in Colorado Springs and I immediately knew I was going to reach out to him about being on the show. Everything about teaming up with Connor for our conversation was smooth, like he rides a bike. When he said, “let’s do it,” I knew we struck gold. Connor is such a natural storyteller and speaker and our sit down went so well on Friday, I decided that we’d fast-track the editing and make this episode 1 of The Bounce Forward Podcast. As Connor says, you’ve got to bet big to win big, so in his honor and in the honor of Kobe and Gianna, we’re releasing this one on 2.8.
Connor Fields is a three-time Olympian, two-time World Champion, a Pan American Games Gold Medalist, winner of the Red Bull Revolution and he’s the first American to win an Olympic BMX Gold medal.
He turned pro at age of 15 and at 17-years-old, Connor became the youngest rider to ever podium a BMX World Cup. Connor is celebrated in the BMX and cycling community at-large as one of the ALL-TIME greats to ever race on two wheels.
In the semi-finals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, on the brink of battling it out for another Olympic podium, Connor went down in a terrible crash, sustaining a traumatic brain injury that would leave him fighting for his life in a Tokyo hospital.
Today, still fresh off the announcement of his retirement from professional racing, Connor shares stories from his historic career and we dive deep into the mindset that helped him go from “choking” at the London Olympics to “clutch” in Rio and beyond. We discuss how he bounced forward from his traumatic brain injury, parenting young athletes, competing at the highest level, coaching, and Connor’s future as a presenter, broadcaster and entrepreneur.
WNbL, mwl