Gustavo Batista de Oliveira (born 25 September 2002), known as Gustavo Bala Loka, is a Brazilian racing cyclist who represents Brazil in BMX.
Career
Gustavo was born in Cohab 2, on the outskirts of Carapicuíba. He started at the age of seven. On the track called Caracas Trail, in Carapicuíba, Gustavo Balaloka took his first rides on the BMX dirt jump, a sport practiced on dirt ramps. After watching a championship in Carapicuíba, the boy asked his father for a BMX bike. At the time, 16-inch bicycles were not manufactured in Brazil, and importing was something outside the family's financial reality. Therefore, they needed to use creativity and improvise. Gustavo's father went to a junkyard in Osasco, found a bicycle, took BMX parts and put them on the bike that wasn't for BMX, so his son could practice the sport. His nickname, "Crazy Bullet (Bala Loka)" came when he was learning and taking risks.[2] When pedaling at full speed to try to jump a ramp, Gustavo lost control, miscalculated and went straight over. He woke up later, scared, lying on the floor, with his father throwing water in his face. His friends said he pedaled like a bullet, like a madman, and the combination gave him the name that accompanies him to this day.[3]
In 2016, he was called up by the Brazilian Cycling Confederation (CBC) to participate in a World Championship for the first time.[3]
In 2017, at the age of 15, he won a stage of the BMX Freestyle World Cup in China.[4]
The BMX park modality was at the Olympic Games for the first time in Tokyo 2020. In this edition, Brazil was unable to classify representatives in both the men's and women's categories. Bala Loka, which began to emerge after 2020, began focusing on Paris 2024.[2]
At the 2022 South American Games held in Asunción, Paraguay, he won a bronze medal in BMX Freestyle.[3][5]
At the 2022 Pan-American BMX Park Freestyle Cycling Championship, held in November, in Lima, Peru, Gustavo obtained the bronze medal. Argentine Jose Torres won the title. The silver medal went to Peruvian Job Montañez.[6]
At the beginning of 2023, he obtained a bronze medal at the Pan-American BMX Championships, behind only Venezuelan Daniel Dhers, silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and Costa Rican Kenneth Tencio, runner-up in the 2018 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships. In July 2023, he secured Brazil's first Top 10 in a World Cup stage.[7][8]
In August 2023, being in 12th position in the international ranking of the BMX Freestyle Park, Gustavo participated in the 2023 UCI BMX Freestyle World Championships that took place in Glasgow, Scotland, where he finished in tenth place.[7][9][10]
At the 2023 Pan American Games held in Santiago, Chile, he won a bronze medal in BMX Freestyle.[11]
In December 2023, he was nominated by the COB (Brazilian Olympic Committee), as the best in the country in the BMX Freestyle Cycling category, during the 2023 Prêmio Brasil Olímpico.[12]
References
- ^ a b Click on BMX, Gustavo Batista to see database
- ^ a b Bala Loka usa rampas de terra de Carapicuíba como impulso para Olimpíadas de Paris
- ^ a b c Gustavo 'Bala Loka' vai da bicicleta do ferro velho ao bronze no BMX em Assunção
- ^ Brasileiro de 15 anos conquista etapa da Copa do Mundo de BMX Freestyle na China
- ^ Gustavo Bala Loka é bronze no BMX nos Jogos Sul-Americanos
- ^ Bala Loka e Carol Bittencourt são bronze no Pan de Park
- ^ a b Com feitos inéditos no BMX Freestyle, Gustavo Bala Loka vira referência no ciclismo brasileiro
- ^ Olympic runner-up dominated the Pan American BMX Championship, FreeStyle modality
- ^ Gustavo Bala Loka de alma e coração para representar o Brasil no BMX Freestyle do Pan 2023
- ^ https://www.tissottiming.com/File/0003160304010102FFFFFFFFFFFFFF03 Men's Park Elite final results
- ^ Brasil fecha Pan com recorde de 205 medalhas; veja lista completa
- ^ COB divulga lista dos indicados ao prêmio de melhor atleta de 2023