Bennett Gets Extra Day to Heal, Olympic Races Off

BEIJING -- American BMX racer Kyle Bennett will get an extra day to rest his injured shoulder.

The
men's and women's Olympic BMX semifinals and medal races were rained
out Thursday, giving Bennett -- the three-time world champion from
Conroe, Texas, who dislocated his left shoulder in a nasty crash during
a quarterfinal heat -- an additional 24 hours to recover before racing
again.

Rain began falling at the Laoshan cycling complex
overnight, and when heavy squalls persisted during the morning, event
officials decided to push the entire card back to Friday.

The
course was covered by several tarps. Some teams had already arrived
when the decision to postpone was announced; others, including the
U.S., were on their way to the venue when racing was canceled, "in
consideration of the fairness of the competition," said a statement
from the event organizers at the track.

Mike Day of the United
States won the time trial and all three of his quarterfinal heats
Thursday. He, Bennett and Donny Robinson all qualified for the
semifinals, making the U.S. the only nation with three men in the round
of 16. All three will be racing in the same round of semifinals.

Jill Kintner, the lone American woman in the field, was the seventh seed in her 16-racer event.

This is the first year BMX has been part of the Olympic program.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press