Bubba Harris: Difference between revisions

{{For|the baseball player|Bubba Harris (baseball)}}

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'''Burlin Buntster Harris III'''<ref>[http://usocpressbox.org/usoc/pressbox.nsf/2008%20Countdown%20to%20Beijing.pdf?openfileresource United States Olympic Committee document confirming Harris's first name (page.44 *.pdf file.)]</ref><ref name="usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article">[http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-06-10-harris-bmx_N.htm usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article.]</ref> (b. August 7, 1985 from [[Palmdale, California]] [[United States|U.S.]]) is an American professional "New/Current School" [[BMX|Bicycle Motocross (BMX)]] racer whose prime competitive years are from 1999 to the present. Usually goes by the [[moniker]] "Bubba", as did his father when he was young.<ref name="usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article" />

*Suffered a jammed elbow at the UCI Supercross time trials on September 7, 2006 in [[San Jose, California]].<ref>[http://www.georgiabmx.com/ Georgia BMX.com. Word search for UCI "Supercorss" ("supercross" is misspelled on the site)]</ref>

*Exactly one year to the day BMX competition was to start in the 2008 Olympic Games in [[Beijing, China]], he completely dislocated the left ankle at the [[talus bone]] on August 20, 2007 in Beijing, China on the official Olympic track during his first run of his Time Trial. Coming out of the second turn he took an extra two pedals before setting up for the jumps. This did not leave him enough time to make the transition smoothly. He hit the first jump of the rhythm section and his right foot became unclipped from that pedal. He hit two successive jumps essentially one footed, his still clipped in left foot taking the weight.<ref name="usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article" /> He hit a fourth successive jump slightly obliquely and was launched sideways by his momentum into the air, coming down on the back side of a jump with his left foot still clipped into an SPD pedal. It was twisted at approximately a 90 degree angle from its proper position.<ref name="usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article" /> Doctors almost amputated his foot. After three months of recuperation, he attempted to race the 2007 ABA Grandnationals but reinjured the injury slightly in practice and sat out the Grands. He did race the NBL Christmas Classic on December 27, 2007 but didn't make the mains. Despite the constant pain he is in even just walking, he put off surgery on it to remove bone splinters to speed his recovery in time for the 2008 Olympics.<ref name="usatoday.com June 10, 2008 article" /> In defiance of the pain, he was able to do relatively well during the 2008 racing season, including winning the Elite Men class at the NBL National in [[West Palm Beach, Florida]] on March 16, 2008.<ref name="fatbmx.com June 24, 2008 article">[http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4959 fatbmx.com June 24, 2008 article.]</ref>

*Still maintaining Olympic hopes he was in training for the Summer Olympics at a track at the Olympic Training Center in [[Chula Vista, California]]. His Olympic dreams for making the 2008 team came to an end when he broke his right ankle in practice for the Olympic Trials on June 12, 2008.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/14/AR2008061402047_2.html Washington Post article June 15, 2008.]</ref> Ironically, the training track is an exact replica of the Olympic BMX track that the BMX events for the Beijing Olympics would be held on. His crash was on the second straight. He had hoped that it was a bad sprain but the next day doctors confirmed the break and Harris withdrew his name from the Time Trial competition leaving only seven competitors.<ref>[http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jun/13/finish-line-injury-ends-harris-olympic-bid-in/ rockymountainnews.com June 13, 2008 article.]</ref> On June 14, 2008 Harris saw his good friend Mike Day win the Olympic team Qualifying Trials and qualified for a sure slot on the USA BMX Olympic Team. He was cheering him on straight through. A few days after the Trials Harris had surgery to remove some of the floating bone chips left over in his left ankle from his severe August 20, 2007 dislocation.

*Harris suffered from cracked ribs after a crash at the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in [[Reno, Nevada]] on the weekend of January 11, 2009. He reportedly fell on his handlebars when he crashed.<ref>[http://www.supercrossbmx.com/news.html Supercrossbmx.com website report.]</ref> He returned to racing after a near two month layoff at the ABA Winter Nationals in [[Phoenix, Arizona]] on March 6–8, 2009.<ref name="fatbmx.com" />