NZ BMXer Petch overcomes hard fall to reach Tokyo semis

Kiwi Rebecca Petch has shown plenty of grit to advance to the semi-finals after crashing in the opening heat of her Olympic campaign in the women's BMX.

Petch was sitting third halfway through the race when her attempt to round a bend on the Tokyo course went wrong, with the 23-year-old being flung forward over her handlebars.

The Kiwi rider was slow to get up from the incident but showed her fighting spirit and finished the race with a time of 2:01.322.

She was spotted walking around after the heat and later quashed any thoughts of a withdrawal from the second heat as she lined up once again to take on the course.

Petch had a much cleaner run the second time around, finishing third in the race and giving herself a chance to qualify for tomorrow's semi-finals with a decent run in her final heat.

She did just that 30 minutes later, finishing an impressive second to earn one of the 16 spots in tomorrow's do-or-die racing.