Michal Prokop

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Michal Prokop
Prokop (left) at the 2007 Supercross World Cup
Personal information
Full nameMichal Prokop
Born (1981-04-01) 1 April 1981 (age 43)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb)
Team information
Current teamSpecialized
DisciplineBicycle motocross (BMX)
RoleRider
Rider typeFourcross, Enduro
Professional teams
2000–2001Specialized 69
2002Be One
2003–2009Author
2010Author Gang
2011–Specialized

Michal Prokop (born 1 April 1981 in Prague) is a Czech professional BMX and Mountain Bike Four-cross rider.[1] Started his sporting career at the age of five, Prokop has claimed two World Cup circuit gold medals, and three World Championship jerseys (2003, 2004, and 2011) in the men's elite category, emerging him as one of the most successful fourcross riders in the sport's brief history.[2]

In BMX racing, Prokop has been named an eight-time Czech champion, and collected three gold medals to his career resume at the European Championships. Moreover, he mounted numerous top-three finishes at the UCI BMX World Championships, including his men's cruiser bronze medal in 2002. Prokop also represented his nation Czech Republic at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and more recently, earned his only prestigious title in the men's elite category at the 2012 Red Bull Pump Riders tournament in his home turf Prague.[3] Because of his ample successes in both BMX and fourcross racing, Prokop has been named the "King of the Czech Cycling" by the nation's governing sport union in 2006.[4] Since he turned himself professional in 1995, Prokop currently races for the Specialized BMX and Fourcross Racing Team.[5]

Prokop qualified for the Czech squad, as the nation's sole male rider, in men's BMX cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving an automatic berth from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) based on his top-ten performance from the BMX World Rankings.[6] After he grabbed a twentieth seed on the morning prelims with a time of 36.689, Prokop scored a total of 18 placing points to take the sixth spot in his quarterfinal heat, thus eliminating him from the tournament.[7][8][9]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Michal Prokop". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Drift Czech welcomes Michal Prokop to the Drift Czech Team". Drift Innovation. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Prokop a Slavík umí i bez řetězů - vyhráli Red Bull Pump Riders" [Without chains, Prokop and Slavik can win the Red Bull Pump Riders] (in Czech). MTBS. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Fat-tyre king gets Czech crown". Cycling News. 17 February 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  5. ^ "King of first race Specialized Enduro Serie 2013 is rider Michal Prokop!". Enduro. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Bikrosař Prokop skončil v druhém závodu SP v Adelaide čtvrtý" [BMX rider Prokop finished second in the race in Adelaide SP fourth] (in Czech). Sport.cz. 13 April 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Men's BMX Seeding". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  8. ^ "Men's BMX Quarterfinals Heat 2". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Big names advance in BMX, but not without crashes". The Star (Malaysia). 20 August 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
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