Connor Fields

3x Olympian, 2x World Champion & the 1st American to Win Olympic BMX Gold

Connor Fields

3x Olympian, 2x World Champion & the 1st American to Win Olympic BMX Gold

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Biography

Connor Fields is a three-time Olympian, a two-time World Champion, and the only American to win a Gold Medal for the United States in BMX Racing. He is also the only Olympic athlete who has both won the Olympics… and nearly died while competing during the games.

As one of the world's all-time greatest BMX racers, Connor has represented the United States over 50 times in more than 25 countries across the globe. In 2016, he reached the pinnacle of success for an Olympic athlete, coming home with a Gold Medal to show for his unrelenting dedication.

At the 2021 Tokyo Games, Connor was the number one seed in his semi-final when a mid-race collision sent him into the track at 40 miles per hour, recounted as one of the worst accidents in Olympic history. Instead of defending his title, he found himself fighting for his life. He laid unconscious in a hospital bed for 5 days, ultimately diagnosed with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) including life-threatening hemorrhages to four different parts of his brain, along with broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and torn shoulder and bicep ligaments.

After a grueling year of rehabilitation, Connor jumped on his bike the very first day he was cleared to ride, determined to go out on his own terms.

Since retiring, Connor has become the Emmy Nominated host of PBS's Outdoor Nevada and provided commentary for the Emmy-Winning NBC broadcasts during the 2024 Summer Olympics. He serves on the boards of USA Cycling and USABMX, coaches the next generation of riders, and travels the country presenting his keynote, "Now What?" inspiring others to keep moving forward after wins, losses, and even a brush with death.

Speaker Videos

Connor Fields Speaker Reel 2026

Nashville 2025

You just won the Olympics. Now what?

The Big Olympic Secret

What would you do?

The Ride - My Story

Resilience & Mental Health

Connor Fields Speaker Reel 2024

See Fewer Videos

Speech Topics

Now What? Moving Forward After Wins, Losses, Missed Targets & Sudden Change

Many Olympic Athletes can tell you a tale of strife, perseverance, and eventually… glory. Connor’s story, while including each of these elements, doesn’t end with his moment of triumph and a gold medal placed around his neck. His racing career ended violently with a forced retirement due to a near-fatal injury, his entire future a giant question mark and one question on his mind, “Now what?” As the only Olympic athlete in the history of the Olympic Games who has won the Olympics, and nearly died while competing at the Olympics, Connor has experienced the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows. Each time looking to move forward by answering that same question, “Now What.” What would you do if the goal you worked toward your entire life was finally within reach, but achieving it passed you by? How would it feel to achieve your wildest dream? What would you do to keep moving forward?

What would you do if your foundation was rocked, and you were forced to adapt to unforeseen change?

Connor Fields shows you and your team how to move forward after wins, losses, missed targets, and sudden change in his keynote “Now What?”

Connor is the only Olympic Athlete who has both won a gold medal, and nearly died while competing at the Olympic games. His 11-year career as a professional BMX racer, and as one of the most dominant athletes in his sport, was built on the foundations of precision, preparation, and peak performance. He can teach what it takes to win at the highest level. But, it is his experience as an athlete whose career was marred by a brush with death, that has given him a unique insight on how to move forward when everything changes in an instant.

In his keynote, "Now What?" Connor walks his audience through his journey to the olympic games —where triumph and failure collided— and shares how resilience, adaptability, and mental strength shaped his path. From choking in his first final, to bringing home gold, to fighting for his life, he learned that having a true champion's mentality isn’t just about reaching the summit—it’s about how you rise again, and find a way to keep going, when faced with what seems to be an impossible obstacle. In “Now What?”, audiences learn how the decisions he made in his most pivotal moments kept him moving forward and on toward success.

Because encountering change or adversity is not a matter of “if’, it’s “when”, and the real differentiator isn’t talent, it’s preparation. What separates those who “tried” from those who “succeeded” is having the resilience, identity, clarity, and decision-making framework in place before disruptions hit.

Through powerful storytelling and practical tools, Connor inspires audiences to:

Set Clear Goals: Once you know what you want to achieve, how do you get there? Connor outlines his step-by-step process to tackling big goals.
Lean Into Resilience: After a failure, what do you do to get better? Connor shares what he learned from failing at the highest level: how to correct mistakes and get them right the next time around.
Sustain Success: Now that you have won, you have met your goals, how do you stay at the top? Be ready to sustain success with insights from someone who stayed in the top 5 of World Rankings for over a decade.
Keep Failure in Perspective: No one wants to fail, but if you are here, you have a chance to fix it. Nearly losing your life and having the world’s attention to see if you would survive changes the way you look at failure. Be able to keep failure in perspective and stay optimistic about the future.

Steps to Success

In this keynote as an Olympic motivational speaker, Fields delves into the specific steps to success that propelled him to become an Olympic gold medalist. He underlines the crucial need for setting precise, ambitious goals and the power of making every decision count towards achieving those aspirations. Every choice, no matter how small, can impact our path to success, a lesson Fields learned on his way to becoming a 3-time Olympic medalist. He also shares the secrets of periodization, the strategy athletes use to “peak” at the right moment and how you can apply that strategy into your business.

Strategies for Peak Performance

We all want to perform at our best in those big moments, but how do you do it? Along Fields' journey, he has gathered invaluable insights to do just that. Reflecting on his initial Olympic endeavor, he pinpointed the missteps that held him back from executing. This introspection was crucial, helping him establish best practices to prime himself for peak performance next time. Fields shares these lessons to equip you with the strategies to be ready for your personal Gold Medal Moment.

How to Handle the Moment

Whole country counting on you… hundreds of millions watching… your entire career comes down to this moment…will you become one of the Olympic champions… The intensity of an Olympic final is unmatched, yet the essence of pressure remains constant across all scenarios. Fields developed strategies to manage this pressure, strategies born from moments when the stakes couldn't be higher. He shares these tactics, offering insights into how they can be adapted to navigate the pressures in your own life, within both work and personal life turning seemingly daunting challenges into opportunities for growth and achievement.

Redefining Success: It Isn't Just About Winning

As an Olympic Speaker in this keynote presentation, Fields unveils the raw truth behind many athlete's journeys to the Olympics—a path often accompanied by mental health challenges. He shares his personal battle with failure, embarrassment, depression, and a crisis of confidence that nearly made him give up. Despite facing these daunting obstacles, he discovered the resilience to keep at it, and ultimately triumph at the 2016 Olympics.

The pursuit of his next gold medal in 2021 brought a life-altering challenge: a traumatic brain injury that nearly claimed his life and forced him into retirement. This experience forced Fields to confront life's fragility and embark on a journey of profound transformation. Who am I? What am I going to do next? It was a wake-up call to reevaluate what truly matters, leading to a newfound focus on his mental health. His story is a reminder of the resilience we all have within us and a reminder that success isn’t just about medals, it is about perspective and being thankful for what you do have, rather than getting stuck focusing on what you don’t.

Importance of Perspective

Fields raced BMX for 22 years, and he has no memory of his final race….But he remembers the other ones, and he is here today. He always stresses the importance of keeping things in perspective and focusing on the positives, no matter the challenges. Fields encourages finding gratitude in what we've achieved and the lessons learned, instead of getting caught up in setbacks or negative moments. This has been key in his recovery and reinvention after his traumatic brain injury.

Inspiration

Do you want a new perspective on inspiration? Fields experienced the highest highs and lowest lows, including a world championship, gold medals, depression, injuries, a coma, forced retirement, and many different mental health challenges. His story isn't just about being an Olympic champion and gold medals, but about overcoming adversity and emerging stronger. This keynote presentation is designed to inspire and motivate you to become the best version of yourself, showcasing the resilience and determination it takes to navigate life's challenges. As an inspirational speaker, Olympic speaker, sports speaker, leadership speaker, keynote speaker, Fields bring these experiences to life to help you find your own path to success.

Ending Mental Health Stigma

Needing mental health support does not make you weak. Fields emphasizes the critical need to prioritize mental health and to challenge the stigma that often surrounds it. Throughout his journey, he has faced his own battles with mental health, and he is open about the struggles he has encountered. His message to others is clear: it's okay to seek help and support. By sharing his experience, he hopes to inspire a conversation that encourages everyone to take their mental health seriously and to never feel alone in their struggles.

Testimonials

“Connor Fields delivered an unforgettable keynote that left our senior leadership team inspired, energized, and respectfully humbled. His story of perseverance, mental toughness, and overcoming adversity resonated far beyond the track. Connor has a natural ability to connect with people —sharing not just his victories, but also the challenges and setbacks that shaped him into the champion and person he is today. His message about resilience, preparation, and recovery struck a powerful chord with our team. Whether you’re leading a business, chasing personal goals, or navigating uncertainty, Connor’s insights are universally relevant and incredibly motivating. We were honored to host him and would highly recommend Connor Fields to any organization seeking a world-class speaker who combines authenticity with purpose and determination to pursue excellence and never settle!”

- The Biltmore Company

“I have worked with many athletes and speakers in the past, and Connor was outstanding. He came prepared, was flexible, and was an all-around professional.”

- Boon Supply

“We were extremely pleased with Connor Fields’ presentation at our recent Level Up 2025 Conference. His session was both inspiring and motivating, and he managed to capture and hold the attention of over 200 employees throughout his presentation. Connor’s message tied in perfectly with our training themes and truly resonated with our audience. The feedback we received from our post-conference survey reflected just how much of an impact he made. Connor also received the highest positive score of all speakers and activities at our event this year. Leading up to the conference, Connor was exceptionally professional and easy to work with. He was responsive, accommodating, and genuinely invested in making his session a success. His positive energy, professionalism, and relatability made the entire experience a pleasure. We would highly recommend Connor Fields for any conference, training, or speaking engagement. He’s engaging, professional, and delivers a message that truly connects with his audience.”

- Clark County Credit Union

“Connor was amazing as an inspiring and energizing start on our Employee Conference. We had nearly 200 team members from different countries around Caribbean & Central America completely engaged on his story. It has the perfect balance on discipline, hard work, emotions, and resilience. What a way to connect with our “hunger for growth” and “accountability” topics! Connor was always so open to work with us, adjust some parts of the speech so we could easily connect with the messages on our convention, and happy to answer all the questions that the team eagerly brought!”

- Diageo

“Connor Fields delivered one of the most impactful keynotes in NAPS history. His message of perseverance, mental toughness, and resilience—rooted in both his journey to Olympic gold and his courageous recovery from a life-threatening accident—resonated deeply with our attendees. Beyond his achievements, Connor was down-to-earth, relatable, and a true professional. He inspired us not only with his words, but with his character. I would highly recommend him as a keynote speaker for any organization seeking to motivate and uplift their audience.”

- NAPS

“I had the good fortune to work with Connor Fields as our keynote speaker for an event in Downtown, Las Vegas. If this were a yelp review he would have 5- stars across the board, and the comment would read “Strongly recommend.”

- MGM Resorts International

“Connor Fields has been an incredible speaker at both our flagship and regional events, and I can’t recommend him enough. His story is truly inspiring, motivating our audience and earning standing ovations every time he speaks for us. His presence always leaves a lasting impression. Not only is Connor an engaging and impactful speaker, but he is also a joy to work with, bringing a professional, approachable attitude that makes collaboration easy.”

- Inman

“Connor is a mix of when real world talent, meets uncompromised dedication to his craft. We had the pleasure of him speaking to our select group of top sales people. The feedback was outstanding. His experience with failure, adversity, and success is Unparalleled. Failure is a part of everything great Entrepreneurs and salesmen go through, but so is success.”

- YEG Pro Realty

“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.”

- The Quinton Group

“It was right up our alley, as far as our messaging to our sales team. Mental preparation and being present are so important to us in our business, and his message was perfect and we feel so blessed to have had him! 1000% I would recommend hiring him. Great speaker, great message, everybody can identify with what he has to say and he is a first class guy.”

- Flagstar Bank

“Connor gave us an up-close look at the path he faced as a professional athlete and what he had to overcome to achieve his life-long dream of becoming an Olympic Gold Medal winner. Our staff faces challenges every day in their jobs and personal lives, and Connor shared his story in such a way that you could truly relate to the challenges he faced as if they were your own.”

- AngMar Medical Holdings, Inc