María Gabriela Díaz (born 2 January 1981 in Alta Gracia, Córdoba) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

professional

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

cyclist. Emerging as the world's most decorated female BMX rider in history, Diaz has claimed multiple Argentine national titles, six Pan American championship titles, and five medals (three golds, one silver, and one bronze) in women's elite category at the UCI World Championships. She also won two medals, including a prestigious gold, in the same category at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

(2007 and 2011), and later represented her nation Argentina at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. Diaz sought sporting headlines at the UCI BMX World Championships, where she claimed a total of five medals (three golds, one silver, and one bronze) in the women's elite category, making her the world's most decorated female rider of all time. At the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Diaz powered her lead over the eight-strong female squad on the final stretch to take home the first gold for Argentina in the women's BMX category, finishing ahead of host nation's Ana Flávia Sgobin. Diaz qualified for the Argentine squad in women's BMX cycling at the

in Beijing by receiving one of the nation's two available berths based on her top-ten performance from the UCI BMX World Rankings. After grabbing a fifth seed on the morning prelims with a time of 37.590 and then mounting a third spot in her semifinal heat with 13 placing points, Diaz narrowly missed out the podium by more than a second with a fifth-place finish in 39.747. At the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

in Guadalajara, Mexico, Diaz could not defend her women's BMX title with a bronze-medal time in 42.971, holding off her sister Mariana on the final turn by a two-second advantage. Diaz also sought her bid for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, but she finished sixth in her quarterfinal heat at the

2012 UCI BMX World Championships The 2012 UCI BMX World Championships were the seventeenth edition of the UCI BMX World Championships and took place in Birmingham in the United Kingdom and crowned world champions in the cycling discipline of BMX. Medal summary Medal table E ...

in Birmingham, England, failing to advance further to the latter rounds for a coveted Olympic spot.

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Gabriela 1981 births Living people Argentine female cyclists BMX riders Olympic cyclists for Argentina Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina Pan American Games bronze medalists for Argentina Pan American Games medalists in cycling Cyclists at the 2007 Pan American Games Cyclists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games South American Games silver medalists for Argentina South American Games bronze medalists for Argentina South American Games medalists in cycling Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Competitors at the 2014 South American Games UCI BMX World Champions (elite women) Sportspeople from Córdoba Province, Argentina