By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP) _ Halfway through the BMX men’s gold medal race, Mike Day knew he was beaten, and the notion of leaving Beijing with only a silver medal represented an unfathomable disappointment.

An hour later, the magnitude of the accomplishment having sunk in, he was filled with glee.

“Incredible,” he said, holding the shiny prize that dangled from his neck, “is how I’d describe it.”

By then, all that mattered to Day was this: On his sport’s most historic day, he became an Olympic medalist — and two of his teammates reached the podium as well. Silver, bronze and bronze for the U.S., the nation that invented the genre of cycling known as bicycle motocross nearly 40 years ago.

No gold, but no complaints, either.

Day finished second in the men’s Olympic final Friday, one spot ahead of Donny Robinson, while Jill Kintner survived a crash-filled women’s main event to win her bronze. That meant U.S. riders took half of the medals awarded at the first-ever Olympic BMX finals, something the Americans pointed to with pride.

“Silver medal, after 3½ years of training, I can’t complain. We had all the resources to make this happen and we’re excited to be here,” Day said. “Two men and a woman on the podium, I’m pumped.”

So was USA Cycling, which now has five medals at the Beijing Games.

American bikers have exceeded that total only twice before, winning nine in 1984 when the Eastern bloc boycotted, and claiming 21 in 1904, when the U.S. was the only nation racing.

And the significance wasn’t lost on the American racers.

“First woman for America, in the first event ever, first medal, it’s such a piece of history,” said Kintner, who rides with a shredded knee ligament that’ll require surgery soon. “I’m so glad I can represent and be a part of it. Mikey and Donny and me, it’s huge for American BMX. Think about it. This’ll bring a big boost to our program. It puts us on the map again.”

World champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia won the men’s gold, sweeping to the front at the start of the winner-take-all final and never losing control. The French duo of Anne-Caroline Chausson and Laetitia Le Corguille took gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s title race, where Kintner rallied from far back in the pack to win her medal.

“We put on a great show,” Robinson said, “and kind of showed everyone that the sport is really awesome.”

The day was filled with crashes, especially in Turn 1, a tight, banked, asphalt bend where mayhem broke out with amazing regularity.

But the Americans largely stayed out of trouble — and in the women’s final, Kintner benefited from the chaos.

Near the back of the eight-woman pack after a poor start in the final, Kintner kept pumping the whole way, hopeful for a break, which British racer Shanaze Reade provided. Reade, who crashed three times during the Olympics, went down again in the final turn, and Kintner maneuvered around her into third place.

“How is that! Talk about stuff flying all over the track everywhere,” Kintner said. “People were going for broke, so I was patient, I waited, I avoided all the problems — and there it was.”

After crossing the finish line, Kintner hopped off her bike, put her hands atop her helmet, hugged some of her competitors, then thrust her fists into the air, all while Reade writhed on the asphalt 50 yards away, realizing she’d just blown a medal.

Reade claimed that Chausson cut her off, but in BMX, nearly anything goes.

“I believe she made an error,” Chausson said. “All the better for the French team.”

All the better for Kintner, too.

She’s a former world mountaincross champion who came back to BMX only for the pursuit of an Olympic medal, which she wanted in tribute to her father, who died two years ago and was essentially the driving force behind her cycling career as a kid.

Dad would’ve been proud Friday, without question.

His daughter had “4 Dad” written on her gloves, giving them a kiss before every ride.

“I was thinking of him,” Kintner said.

Day was the dominant rider in the men’s field, winning the time trial and all three of his quarterfinal heats Wednesday, then winning his first two semifinals on Friday.

But in BMX, the fastest rider doesn’t always win — not with eight people looking for the best line.

In the men’s title race, Strombergs found it, and within moments Day knew he was riding for second, that the Latvian couldn’t be caught.

“I had a good start,” Day said. “I was right there. Just couldn’t get in front of him.”

Throughout the competition, success on the 35-foot, severely sloped starting ramp was critical. Without a good start, no racer could find the best lines going into Turn 1 — where American three-time world champion Kyle Bennett suffered a dislocated shoulder Wednesday. That turn saw crashes in eight of the 12 semifinal heats, where racers vying for position inevitably got tangled with one another.

“It’s like playing pinball out there,” said Bennett, who raced Friday with pain, but barely missed qualifying for the final.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Kintner said. “That’s kind of the beauty of our sport.”