With the 2008 Olympics less than two months away, iafrica.com's sports team will be profiling some of South Africa's medal hopes in the lead-up to Beijing.

It was a rather well-kept secret (if perhaps in South Africa only) that BMX would form part of the 2008 Olympics – a decision that was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2003 already.

However, a bigger surprise — albeit a more pleasant one! — is that South Africa has a competitor, and a very real medal contender at that, in this relatively unknown cycling discipline.

Sifiso Nhlapo, a 21-year-old from Soweto, qualified for the Beijing games by virtue of his third place finish at the recent World Championships – an achievement in itself.

For those of you that do not really know much (or anything for that matter) about BMX, a brief explanation might come in handy.

BMX races take place on tracks of approximately 350 metres, with various jumps, banked corners and other obstacles. In essence, it is not too different from Motocross. Thirty-two men and 16 women will compete at the Games, with eight racers per heat of which the first four will qualify for the next round, effectively making it a quarterfinal, semifinal and final round.

It is quite an achievement by Nhlapo to even have qualified for Beijing, but the reigning South African BMX champion is a genuine medal contender in this fledging Olympic event.

"I hadn't really thought of it (an Olympic medal) until I placed third in the World Championships," Nhlapo told sport.iafrica.com in an exclusive interview.

"The field I competed against was mostly the same guys I have been competing against all year, and should be mostly the same guys that will be competing at the Olympics, too.

"[But], yes, the medal at the World Champs has definitely given me some confidence going into the Olympics," Sifiso added.

As one would expect, BMX has its pitfalls and dangers (otherwise the competitors wouldn't wear helmets, now would they?!), as Sifiso can bear witness to.

During Round 12 of the European Championships – just two weeks before his third place finish at the World Champs, Sifiso found himself hospitalised after an accident.

"I clipped my head a bit too hard and was rushed off to hospital. I was in a coma for four hours," he said, rather nonchalantly.

"The doctors ran a couple of tests on me and I spent the night in ICU. As a result of my crash, doctors ordered me not to race last weekend as a little bump could have set things off in a bad way."

But being able to compete at a World Championship — and grabbing a podium finish — just two weeks after suffering a concussion speaks volumes for Sifiso's mental make-up and determination. Until fairly recently, the mandatory rest period in rugby after suffering a concussion was three weeks... That did not stop him!

Even though Sifiso will be one of South Africa's lesser-known Olympians come Beijing in August, an Olympic medal from the Brackendowns resident would mean just as much, if not more, than any medal from Roland Schoeman, Ryk Neethling or Mbuleni Mulaudzi.

Good luck Sifiso, all of South Africa will be following your progress in Beijing anxiously.

For more information on our star BMX man, visit his official website.

If there is anything you would like to add, mail the iafrica.com sports team!