Coo wins PH's seventh Asiad bronze amid early crash in BMX racing

Even an early crash wasn't enough to stop Patrick Bren Coo from capturing the Philippines' seventh bronze medal in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Recovering in the nick of time after falling off his bike earlier, Coo landed third on the podium behind a 39.076-second runtime in the men's BMX racing finale at the Chun'an Jieshou Sports Centre BMX Course on Sunday, October 1.

Nursing an injury he sustained in an unfortunate accident in the first run, the 21-year-old Coo regained his form in the next two races to reach the finals and achieve the feat, a day after EJ Obiena won the nationals' first Asiad gold.

"I'm very happy but hurting for sure," Coo said. "I ripped my pants in the process and got it fixed immediately."

Admitting the crash wasn't a new thing to him, Coo told reporters he's taking steps to avoid such mistakes again.

"I'm fast and everything, but I get so much adrenaline most of the time," he said. "I need to take it step by step, by staying calm more on the bike."

Japan's Asuma Nakai registered 37.542 to earn the gold, while Thailand's Komet Sukprasert, the reigning Southeast Asian Games champion, took the silver with 38.478.

Meanwhile, Coo's compatriot and former Asian Games titlist Daniel Caluag qualified for the medal round but fell to sixth place. Caluag, 36 years old, bagged the title in the 2014 Incheon Games before nabbing a bronze in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang meet.

This marked the third straight time the Philippines won a cycling medal in the Asiad since Caluag's gold nine years ago, then a bronze in 2018.