Liam Peter Phillips (born 11 March 1989) is a
BMX racing cyclist
Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cyclin ...
representing
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
. In 2013 he won the
UCI BMX World Championships, his first.
Having been cycling from the age of 5, he took up competitive BMX whilst a junior and won ten consecutive British titles. He won his first European title in 1999, and represented Great Britain at the
2008 Summer Olympics, at the
2012 Summer Olympics (despite having broken his collarbone shortly before) and at the
2016 Summer Olympics.
Early life
Born at
Musgrove Park Hospital
Musgrove Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital located in Taunton, Somerset, England, run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Originally a US Army General Hospital during the Second World War, it became an NHS hospital in 1951.
History
The 67th ...
in
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by t ...
, he was raised in
Burnham-on-Sea
Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort.
...
and attended
The King Alfred School.
[ He began cycling at the age of five years, and often raced his sister.][
]
Cycling career
Between the ages of five and fourteen, he was the winner of ten consecutive British BMX titles.[ In 1999 he won the European BMX Championship for the first time, and joined the Olympic Academy Programme in 2005. In 2008 he was selected for the ]British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English ...
team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China as a competitor in the men's BMX.[ eventually being considered as one of the members of the squad's men's sprint team.][ He decided to make the switch from BMX due to the reduced chance of injury in track racing.][ During this period he was a member of the sprint team that placed third at the ]British National Team Sprint Championships
The British National Team Sprint Championships are held annually as part of the British National Track Championships organized by British Cycling. A women's championship was held for the first time in 2008.
Results Men
Women
See also
* Bri ...
in September 2011. However, it was announced in October 2011 that he had decided to return to BMX, which resulted in the media considering him to be one of the best prospects to represent Great Britain in the men's BMX at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[
Having taken the silver medal in the time trial at the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships held at the ]National Indoor Arena
Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...
in Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, the following day Philips broke his collarbone
The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the scapula, shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on ...
during the morning's Moto 1 race.[ This resulted in him requiring surgery to insert a metal plate, and put his selection for the 2012 Games in doubt.]UCI BMX Supercross World Cup UCI BMX Racing World Cup is a series of events for BMX racing (bicycle motorcross) held under the regulations of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the sport's international governing body.
Seasons
Men's winners
Women's winners
Meda ...
, becoming the first rider to win two back-to-back BMX World Cup titles when he took a second series win in 2015.
Personal life
He lives in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, close to the National Indoor BMX Arena
The National Indoor BMX Arena is an indoor BMX racing facility, located in Sportcity, Manchester, United Kingdom. The arena was designed by Ellis Williams Architects and built by contractors Sir Robert McAlpine. It is situated next to the Manches ...
.[
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Liam
1989 births
Living people
BMX riders
English male cyclists
Olympic cyclists of Great Britain
Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
UCI BMX World Champions (elite men)
People from Burnham-on-Sea