RIO DE JANEIRO) – Peerless Colombian Mariana Pajon retained her women’s BMX title and Connor Fields became the first American to win Olympic gold in cycling’s most spectacular discipline on Friday.
Pajon, 24, roared on by hundreds of yellow-clad fans in the sun-bathed grandstand at Rio’s X-Park, put not a wheel out of place as she pedalled to victory in the final, repeating her feat from London four years ago.
The Medellin flyer won all three runs in her semi-final to give her the best lane in the eight-rider showdown. Blasting out of the gate she quickly hit the front in the final and flowed smoothly over the humps and bumps to the finish line.
American Alise Post took the silver medal with Venezuela’s Stefany Hernandez, who lost a chain after a crash in a semi-final run and had to walk across the line, claiming the bronze medal, sparking a fiesta for the South Americans.
“This is better than anything,” Pajon, whose popularity in Colombia will soar even further after her gold, told reporters after the crowds joined her in belting out the country’s anthem.
“It’s so beautiful. Already to win two gold medals it’s just crazy. I raced well. I feel like I was at home with so many Colombian fans in the grandstands. It filled me with energy.”
While Pajon dominated from start to finish, the men’s event was turned upside-down when multiple crashes in Thursday’s quarter-finals wiped out the hopes of double Olympic champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia and world champion Joris Daudet of France.
