Jonathan Suárez (BMX rider)

Jonathan Fernando Suárez Freitez (born 8 December 1982, in San Félix, Bolívar) is a Venezuelan professional BMX cyclist.[1] Dubbed by his sporting fans as El Mosquito, Suarez has been highly considered a solid, all-around BMX rider in Latin America, and more importantly, one of the world's top cruisers in the sport. He won two men's cruiser medals, including his gold, at the UCI BMX World Championships, and later represented his nation Venezuela at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Not to be confused with Jonathan Suárez Cortés.

Jonathan Suárez
Personal information
Full nameJonathan Fernando Suárez Freitez
NicknameEl Mosquito
Born (1982-12-08) 8 December 1982
San Félix, Bolívar, Venezuela
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Team information
DisciplineBicycle motocross (BMX)
RoleRider
Medal record
Men's BMX racing
Representing  Venezuela
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place2007 Rio de Janeiro Men's BMX
UCI World Championships
Gold medal – first place2007 Victoria Cruiser
Silver medal – second place2008 Taiyuan Cruiser

Suarez sought headlines on the international scene by edging out Filipino-American rider Daniel Caluag, who previously represented the United States, for a prestigious gold medal in men's cruiser at the 2007 UCI BMX World Championships in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.[2][3] He also collected a silver medal to his career hardware in men's BMX cycling at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro on that same year, trailing behind 33-year-old U.S. rider Jason Richardson by less than a second.[4][5]

Suarez qualified for the Venezuelan squad, as the nation's sole rider, in men's BMX cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving an automatic berth from the Union Cycliste Internationale based on his top-ten performance from the BMX World Rankings.[6] Suarez started his morning session by grabbing the eighth prelims seed in 36.325 seconds, but he could not match a more stellar ride in his quarterfinal heat with 17 positioning points and a fifth-place finish, narrowly missing out on the semifinals by a six-point deficit.[7][8][9]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jonathan Suárez". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  2. "BMX: No glory on home soil for Canadian Olympic hopefuls". Times Colonist. Canada.com. 30 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  3. "U.S. concludes UCI BMX World Championships with 68 medals". USA Cycling. 29 July 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  4. "Venezuela conquista dos medallas en BMX" [Venezuela wins two medals in BMX] (in Spanish). El Universal (Caracas). 15 July 2007. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  5. "Richardson scores BMX gold for U.S. at Pan American Games". USA Cycling. 15 July 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  6. "El venezolano Jonathan Suárez pedalea hacia un cupo olímpico" [Venezuela's Jonathan Suárez rides towards the Olympic quota] (in Spanish). Medio Tiempo. 24 November 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. 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 1". 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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