Connor Fields is a three-time Olympian, two-time World Champion, and the first American to win Olympic BMX Gold.
He is also the only Olympic athlete who has both won the Olympics….and nearly died while competing at the Olympics.
As one of the world's all-time greatest BMX racers, Connor has represented the United States 50+ times in 25+ countries. At 17 Connor became the youngest rider to ever podium a BMX World Cup, and was the youngest athlete in his sport at the London 2012 games. However, his racing career was not always marked by triumphs. At the 2021 Tokyo Games, as the number one seed in his semi-final and on pace to defend his gold medal from 2016, Connor went down in one of the worst accidents in Summer Olympic history. Based on previous results, Connor still qualified for the 2021 Olympic BMX final, but instead of competing in that final race, he fought for his life in an ambulance. Connor sustained multiple injuries - broken ribs, a collapsed lung, torn shoulder and bicep ligaments, brain swelling, and four life-threatening brain hemorrhages.
The road to recovery took him through surgery, therapy, and intense physical and cognitive rehabilitation. Connor had to regain the energy to do simple tasks, strengthen short-term memory, relearn vocabulary, and even learn how to speak correctly. He learned firsthand that Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) survivors go through physical, mental, and emotional changes throughout their recovery. Not only did he face the pain of being denied the chance to defend his Gold Medal, but Connor also has no memory of competing in his final Olympics – the moment he trained his entire life for.
Connor realized that, just like in training, life is not about being perfect or getting everything 100% correct. People focus on the last 1% when it’s the 99% that creates champions. It wasn’t the last 1% - a second Olympic Gold - that would make Connor a champion—the 99% of who he already was made him a winner. Connor learned the importance of mental health and having to rebuild yourself when everything goes completely wrong.
After a year of rehabilitation, he was fully recovered and cleared to ride again. Determined not to let his final race define 22 years of riding, he jumped on his bike and rode again on day one to conquer the fear that threatened to keep him off the track. Understandably anxious to hit routine jumps, he took them on and beat the demons that chased him. In his words: “Don’t let adversity define you.”
Connor found new passions, as the host for PBS hit show “Outdoor Nevada” as well as using his story to inspire others around the country. Connor continues to provide commentary for BMX events, including for NBC Olympic broadcasts. He also occasionally rides and coaches BMX, with no passion for his sport lost to the worst of Olympic scenarios The Today Show, Sports Illustrated, and Vanity Fair Magazine have featured his story. He was part of the Polo Ralph Lauren Sport campaign, has been a guest at the White House, and was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award.
In his presentations, Connor opens the curtains to the rarely seen experience of winning sport's most fantastic prize and overcoming extreme adversity. Through authentic and engaging storytelling, Connor provides real-world strategies for peak performance. He directs his audience to identify their own Gold Medal Moment, and provides immediately applicable techniques to be prepared when that moment arrives. He openly shares his journey of recovery and self-discovery with audiences inspiring resiliency and motivating audiences toward tremendous success. Through authentic and engaging storytelling, Connor provides real-world strategies for peak performance, inspires resiliency, and motivates audiences toward tremendous success.
WOW! Connor got us fired up and moved us all emotionally. Our team was glued to their seats as we listened to the details of his journey to understand how to be the best in the world. We got to see behind the curtain on what it really takes to be a high performance individual.
WOW! Connor got us fired up and moved us all emotionally. Our team was glued to their seats as we listened to the details of his journey to understand how to be the best in the world. We got to see behind the curtain on what it really takes to be a high performance individual.