The Colombian athlete and BMX racer Mariana Pajón have accomplished all necessary in her field, yet she always strives for more achievement. Learn more about her right now. Olympic fans can buy Olympic BMX Racing Tickets from our website.

Mariana Pajón must be taken into consideration while discussing BMX racing. The 31-year-old Colombian rider has won two Olympic gold medals, 18 world championships, and two World Cup overall titles. It makes sense why the media has called her the “Queen of BMX.”

The astounding list of titles was earned through a lot of labor, sweat, and tears, but the golden girl from Medellin isn’t quite done yet either – With only one and a half years till Paris 2024, she is working hard to win her third Olympic gold medal.

Discover more about Pajón in the sections below as we examine her professional background and offer some insight into both her demeanor on and off the bike.

Early starting

Pajón, who was born in 1991, was raised in Medellin, a city that, like the majority of Colombia, was plagued by the violence brought on by the existence of organized crime there. Sport provided her parents with a haven from the hardships of life. While her father Carlos participated in amateur racing competitions and rode bikes, her mother Claudia was a skilled horsewoman and swimmer. It was only natural that Mariana would develop a passion for sports given her sporting upbringing.

“I grew up seeing my father compete in BMX, mountain riding, and car races, and I always wanted to be like him. He was excellent and consistently prevailed, “remembers Pajón.” also includes my older brother. I made the decision I wanted to resemble them. My mother was an athlete herself, and she was aware that I shared their passion for sports. They served as my models.”

Pajón started learning to ride a bike at the age of three and soon started competing in BMX races. Pajón had to compete against five and six-year-old boys. There was no division for her age and gender because there weren’t enough females participating in the sport, displaying right away the bravery and tenacity that have defined her career.

Pajón enjoyed gymnastics in addition to BMX racing, but ultimately decided to focus her athletic efforts on BMX racing.

Medical field or professional cyclist?

Pajón won age-related national championships before going on to triumph at the age of nine in the international championships. While encouraging her daughter’s budding racing career, her mother also wanted her to excel in the classroom. Despite the distractions of training (sometimes twice a day as she entered her teens) and competing on a national and international level, Pajón kept her word and performed well.

When Pajón’s schooling came to an end as she entered her late teens, she had to choose between pursuing a professional cycling career as a BMX racer and continuing her study to become a doctor, a field she believed she had a natural talent for. Olympic fans can buy Olympic Tickets from our website.

 

 Following strong exam scores, universities in Colombia expressed interest in Pajón if she wanted to continue the arduous path of study to become a doctor, but in the end, Pajón chose bike racing. She acknowledges that it was a decision that she struggled with at the time and felt torn. She even went to the dean of the institution to get guidance on whether she could pursue both her studies and a career in competition.

“For me, it was a green light to put all of my preparation into what I wanted to accomplish in BMX.”

Up is the only option.

The fact that racing BMX was becoming increasingly successful on a global scale is perhaps what motivated Pajón to concentrate on the sport. Pajón won the UCI World Championship in the Junior Cruiser division (BMX racing with 24″ wheels) at Taiyuan, China, in 2008 at the age of 16.

In Adelaide, Australia, a year later, she successfully defended her Junior Cruiser title and also won the Junior World Championship in the more conventional 20-inch wheel division, which would later become the only wheel class for BMX racing after 2010.

The first senior title would occur in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2011. She had a very genuine chance of winning a medal because the Olympics would be held in London the following year.

London’s sense of national pride

On the strength of her accomplishments at the World Championships, Pajón’s popularity in her native country was rising. She was chosen to carry her nation’s flag during the opening ceremony in London in 2012. a great honor. But now there was pressure to deliver.

 Due to several injuries earlier in the year, she didn’t have the ideal shape going into London, but on the day of the final, she was able to put everything aside. Only the second gold medal in Colombia’s Olympic history, she gained the lead on the first turn of the London racing course and didn’t let go. She was now well-known throughout Colombia.

Nicknames aplenty

Pajón is the most successful female BMX racer in history, earning her the moniker “Queen of BMX,” but among other BMX racers, she is known as “The Atomic Ant.”

The moniker was given to Pajón after a race in the Netherlands in 2003 when Sarah Walker of New Zealand was so impressed by the young rider’s exceptional skill and speed. Pajón was only 11 years old at the time. Pajón, who is noted for attacking courses aggressively and with an explosive drive, successfully defeated Walker to win the gold medal in London in 2012. Pajón is only 5′ 2″ [1.57m] tall, yet she has a lot of strength for her size.

The nickname “Tata” that Pajón is given in Colombia derives from her older brother when he was three years old, he found it very difficult to say Mariana so he just called her “Tata.”

Winning a second Olympic medal and becoming the world champion at home

Success persisted in London in the years that followed. She repeated as an elite world champion four times in total. These included two wins in time trials (the fastest time through the track) and two titles in normal BMX races, the latter of which she won in 2016 at her home circuit in Medellin at a facility that bears her name.

The 2016 Summer Olympics followed. Pajón knew she was in good condition and shape because the World Champs in Medellin had recently passed before Rio. An expecting Colombian nation, however, added to the burden in this situation.

Additionally, she had the support of a crowd that was predominately Colombian in the Rio venue. She was able to maintain her advantage into the first turn, just like she did in London, and cross the finish line first to win a gold medal for a second time.

Superstitious Mariana

Try telling athletes, many of whom have superstitions, that talent can win competitions. Pajón has an odd superstition: she must wear gloves and stockings of various colors.

“I once chose the incorrect socks, and as a result, I won the world championship. I reasoned that this might be the cause. Since then, I’ve run each event with a different pair of socks “She clarifies.

Pajón achieved that first Olympic gold in 2012 using this tactic. She competed in that race in London while wearing a black glove on her left hand, a white glove on her right hand, and one black and one purple sock.

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