In 2012, Mariana Pajon became only the second Gold medalist from her home country. With her win at the London Olympics, she was instantly boosted in to an instant sports celebrity in Colombia. Mariana followed up her Olympic Gold in 2013 with an incredible last-minute charge to take over the points-lead in Pro Women, coming in to The Grands. In Tulsa, she fought hard with Redline’s Alise Post in all three mains, and came out on top - winning her first USA BMX National No.1 Championship. No.1 Woman Pro and Gold medalist ... there isn’t much that Mariana can’t do and hasn’t won.

I’m from the great state of Illinois, I ride for GT Bicycles, and I go to school at Marian University on a BMX scholarship.

Despite being one of the best female BMX racers in the U.S. back in 2008, Alise Post was denied a spot on the Olympic team because, at age 17, she was too young. At the time, the age minimum for an Olympic BMX racer in 2008 was 19. The young BMX star from St. Cloud, Minn., who was accustomed to racing at the sport’s top level, was forced to witness BMX’s pinnacle event from afar. To distract herself from the disappointment, Alise spread herself thin across three sports: BMX, gymnastics, and track and field, while maintaining a 4.0 grade average. Throughout her years, Alise has accomplished plenty: Multiple NAG No.1 titles in ABA 2001 ABA National No.1 Girl 2003 ABA National No.1 Girl Cruiser 2004 ABA National No.1 Girl Cruiser 2006 ABA National No.1 Woman Pro 2006 Golden Crank Rookie Pro of the Year 2007 ABA National No.1 Woman Pro Yet, the Olympic dream was still at the top of her list. Overcoming injuries and fresh competition brought new challenges to her. By the end of 2009, Post was back among the world’s best. Once she became eligible for the 2012 Olympic Games, Alise took her BMX dedication to a whole new level - training with Australia’s Sean Dwight. Upon graduating high school in 2009, Alise retired from gymnastics and track and field in order to relocate — at the invitation of USA Cycling — to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.. Although she remained busy by continuing her education as a full-time student at the University of San Diego for the 2009-10 academic year and by increasing her involvement on the BMX World Cup circuit, she saw big improvements in the beginning of 2010. As a result, she resolved to narrow her focus yet again by making the difficult decision to take a break from college and completely dedicate herself to racing. Within months of this decision, Alise claimed a place as the top-ranked American, both nationally and internationally, by taking third place at both her first Elite World Championship, and at a World Cup race on her home track in Chula Vista. A true competitor, the 5’2”, 120 lb. Post overcame yet another injury and was back on her bike in time to successfully defend her USA Cycling national championship title in the spring of 2012 and wound up making her Olympic dream come true - as she was chosen for Team USA and set to head to London. The London Olympic games has its ups and downs, as all of Minnesota and the BMX World were cheering her on. A crash in the semi KO’ed her for a second or two, and in front of the World stage, she insisted on crossing the finishline with her bike - albeit, a bit wobbly and discombobulated. It was an unfortunate way to finish off her chase for a medal - but she already has her sights set for Brazil in 2016.

At first, Brooke was completely against racing. Her parents only got her a bike so she wouldn’t feel left out when the family went to watch her brother race on their hometown BMX track in Tulare, Calif. Of course, she was only six at the time but, in a discipline where racers start as young as five, Brooke sized up the peer competition and told her parents that she wanted to try racing. Racing BMX in southern California is a bit like playing football in central Texas, the talent pool is deep and wide and the competition is fierce. The distinctions started piling up when Brooke was nine. She has consistently compiled top-3 titles in national age group rankings ever since. Her big break came in 2009 when, as a 16 year old, she scored two world titles and a national title. Brooke graduated from Mt. Whitney High School in 2011 and began to focus on BMX racing full time. While she has lived under her parents’ roof, she has benefited immensely from their sustained support. They have - according to Brooke - always pushed her to be at her very best. They have also pulled double duty as her coach, which sometimes isn’t easy when the going gets rough. As a teen, Brooke has learned that the price of racing at an elite level has cost her a bit of a social life but, rather than be adrift in the life of a normal teenager, she is a determined BMX racer and she credits her parents, in part, with being where she is today. Coming just a tad short on the UCi points scale, Brooke was chosen as the back-up rider for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, and kept training and pushing her two friends and Olympic team members - Alise Post and Arielle Martin. With the Olympic games already started, and just days before they were all to leave for London, Arielle snapped a chain while practicing on the London-replica course, and suffered some serious injuries. Suddenly, Brooke was IN, and on her way to London to represent the United States. In one of the more memorable moments of the BMX event, Brooke flashed the palm of her glove to the TV cameras. Written there on the palm of her Deft family gloves was scribbled “AMV” - her tribute and salute to her OTC roommate, who was watching from a hospital bed back home in San Diego. Despite a gnarly crash in qualifying on the first day of the Olympics - a bail that was seen around the World, Crain went on to make the main event and placed 8th. When Brooke’s not training or riding her bike, she likes to hang out with a few of her close friends, play basketball, or relax at home with her family.

My name is Barry Nobles, They call me the Alabama Slama’. I ride for DK Bikes. If you ever see me at a race, don’t be scared to come up and say wad up!

Donny Robinson is currently the eldest AA-pro in our sport - having turned Pro in 1999. His moniker is “dR” (his initials), often followed by 10 (his UCi career number. According to Wikipedia, the use of the lowercase “d” for his given name is perhaps related to his relatively diminutive physical size. Always small in stature, since a very young age, Donny was always the smallest child in his age group. But what he missed out on in size, he far made up for it in heart, drive and determination. On June 25, 2008, Robinson was chosen by Mike King, team director of the 2008 USA BMX Olympic Team, to represent the U.S.A.. His teammates at the 2008 Beijing debut were Jill Kintner, Mike Day, and Kyle Bennett. His Olympic dream was realized at least in part when he came in third at the Summer Olympics winning a Bronze Medal; avoiding a pileup that saw South Africa’s Sifiso Nhlapo take out nearly half the field. Since it was the sport’s debut and the Mens final was run after the women’s, he officially became the third American and the sixth person overall to win an Olympic Medal in BMX Racing. Throughout his career and often since Beijing, dR has gained a reputation of landing onhis head. A LOT. One of the toughest guys around, he admitted in late 2013 to suffering at least 25 concussions over the course of his career. In the same interview, he advocated for better concussion protocol at the lower levels of BMX racing. Donny’s great sense of rumor - mocking his own reputations as the “little, old guy with memory loss” has boosted dR’s popularity, and he always seems to be a fan favorite, drawing the most cheers from the crowd.

2012 USOC Olympic Trials winner 2012 U.S. Olympic Team member 2013 UCI BMX World Champion Time Trial 2013 UCI BMX World Cup Elite Mens Winner 2013 UCI BMX World Cup Time Trail Winner 2013 RedBull Revolution Winner

Since a very young age, Australian Sam Willougby’s dream had been to race in the USA and become the No.1 Pro. It’s been a long and tedious journey - one that he has worked very hard to achieve. Incredibly, he’s made it come true. In fact, that dream has come true three times so far. While working his way to the top of the Australian ranks, Sam became the first rider to win back-to-back Junior World Titles (2008 and 2009), before moving up to the Elite ranks. It was in 2010 - now with full factory support from Redline Bicycles, that Sam won his first No.1 pro title in America. His soaring 2011 results helped pull Australia to the highest ranked BMX nation - and Sam capped things off with a UCi World Championship; only three months out from the London Games. Full of confidence, Willoughby made his Olympic debut in London where he would again tackle the world’s best, and did his best to chase down Latvia’s Maris Strombergs. Sam wound up with a silver, for his first Olympic try - and upon returning to his new home in the U.S., proceeded to win another National No.1 Pro title in USA BMX. 2013 could very well be Sam’s best year ever; as he kicked off Day 2 of the Winternationals with a AA-pro win and wouldn’t stop winning until 13 races later. Sitting out Southpark to prepare for the Worlds, officially ended Sam’s win-streak, but he would start a new one with a late-season charge of 5 consecutive wins, clinching yet another No.1 Pro Championship. His 13-consec win-streak would shatter the previous Pro record, held by John Purse - and his 18 Win total for the year places him in 2nd place for “most wins” in a season. While the 2013 Cup was his third ever, his 2-in-a-row feat places Sam in good company - joining Brian Patterson, Gary Ellis, Pete Loncarevich, Christophe Leveque, Warwick Stevenson and Bubba Harris. While Sam surely has nothing else to prove - and has already put his name in the BMX history books, he’s definitely not done dominating the sport. There was a lot on the line in 2014: Could Sam tie Bubba Harris’ lone record of 3-in-a-row? At the same time, would he put a 4th No.1 Cup in his collection amd add his name alongside Ellis and Loncarevich as the only 4-in-a-lifetime Pro Champions? Sam went to Tulsa looking like the favorite - winning the 2014 ROC, but was struggling a bit out of the gate in a couple of races. Unfortunately, a bad gate start in the all important Grands semi forced Sam to make up some ground from mid-pack, and while in the 4th place transfer spot he would up casing the berm-jump and going OTB. His weekend, his year and his quest for a record-setting No.1 Pro title was no over. In 2015, Sam is again on target for the No.1 title - and we'll find out in November if he can earn himself a 4th No.1 Pro championship.

Māris Štrombergs (born March 10, 1987 in Valmiera, Latvia) is a professional BMX racer - hailing from Latvia but currently living in Murrieta, California. In the 2008 Summer Olympics (held in Beijing, China), Maris became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling. Earlier that year, he’d won the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships - also held in China. By doing so, Maris became the first Latvian-born Olympian to ever win a Gold medal - instantly boosting him up to Superhero status in his home country. Four years later, he prolonged his Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympic games - completely dominating the main event, and doing a great job of holding off Sam Willoughby for the win. Upon returning from the 2012 Olympics, Strombergs was greeted by thousands of fans in his hometown Valmiera - and whenever he visits back home in Latvia, he is a huge recognizable, sports celebrity.

Just an older dude riding the same size bike that I did as a kid, and having fun doing it!