Liam Phillips

Liam Peter Phillips (born 11 March 1989) is a BMX racing cyclist representing Great Britain. 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 in Taunton, he was raised in Burnham-on-Sea and attended The King Alfred School. Both of his parents were involved in BMX with his father being a former national coach, and helped to found the local BMX club in Burnham. In 2008 he was selected for the British team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China as a competitor in the men's BMX. It was the first time the sport had been featured in an Olympic Games as an official sport; Phillips placed seventh in the second heat and was eliminated from the competition.

He was injured at the 2010 UCI BMX World Championships in South Africa, damaging his shoulder during the second moto. In early 2011 he began training with the British track cycling team, However, he was chosen for the British team despite the injury and was still aiming for a win at the Olympics, saying "The goal is gold, without a doubt. I'm training not to be a medal winner but to be Olympic champion."

In 2014 Phillips became the first British male rider to win the UCI BMX Racing World Cup, 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, close to the National Indoor BMX Arena. He likes to play golf in his spare time.