Mariana Pajón Londoño

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(born 10 October 1991) is a Colombian cyclist, two-time Olympic gold medalist and BMX World Champion.Valledupar Noticias: Mariana Pajón gana Medalla de Oro para Colombia en los Juegos Olimpicos de Londres
valleduparnoticias.co (10 August 2012) She won her first national title at age of 5 and her first world title at 9. Overall, she is the winner of 14 world championships, 2 national championships in the United States, 9 Latin American Championships and 10 Pan American championships. She also won the gold medal at 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, on 10 August 2012, as well as in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in Rio. She is the first Colombian to win two Olympic gold medals. Pajón's achievements in BMX have earned her the nickname "Queen of BMX". Named Colombian Athlete of the Year in 2011, a BMX circuit built in Medellin was named for her, and was the venue where she won the 2016 BMX World Championships. She was selected to be the flag-bearer for

Colombia at the 2012 Summer Olympics Colombia competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's eighteenth appearance at the Olympics, having not competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. Comité Olímpico Colombiano sent ...

at the Opening Ceremony.

BMX Olympic champion

London 2012

After being the flag-bearer for Colombia during the Opening Ceremony of the

, Pajón's first participation in the BMX event resulted in the first gold medal for Colombia during the 2012 games and the second overall in Colombia's participation in the Olympics. After achieving a splendid 1st position in all three runs of the

Semifinals A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, Pajón won with a time of 37.706 seconds during the final.With David Beckham watching, Mariana Pajon wins women’s BMX gold at the London Olympics
The Associated Press (10 August 2012)

Rio 2016

In the

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

Pajón defended her title and won her second Olympic gold medal and fifth overall for Colombia. With this victory, Pajón became the first Colombian athlete to win two gold medals.

Tokyo 2020

In the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Pajón won silver.

Personal life

Mariana Pajón Londoño was born in Medellín, Colombia, on 10 October 1991, daughter of Carlos Mario Pajón and Claudia Londoño, who were also athletes in their youth (her father practiced motoring and her mother riding). She studied at the Sacred Heart Montemayor Catholic school in Rionegro, near to Medellín. Mariana learned to ride a bicycle when she was three years old. When she was four she began to perform her first training on the track, and had her first race, in which she competed against children of five and six years-of-age since there was no suitable category. She was invited to the Youth Camp held during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On 1 June 2008, Mariana won the UCI BMX World Championship 2008, held in Taiyuan, China, in Junior Women's Cruiser category. Pajón married fellow BMX rider

Vincent Pelluard Vincent Adrien Pelluard (born 31 May 1990) is a French-born cyclist specialising in BMX. Pelluard was the French BMX Elite champion in 2013. Following his marriage to Colombian BMX rider Mariana Pajon, he acquired Colombian citizenship and r ...

on 16 December 2017 after dating for 4 years. Pelluard acquired Colombian citizenship through his marriage with Pajón and now represents Colombia on the international scene. She was award the Colombian

Order of Boyacá The Order of Boyacá ( es, Orden de Boyacá) is the highest peacetime decoration of Colombia. The order is awarded for exceptional service to distinguished Colombian military officers and civilians as well as foreign citizens of friendly nations. E ...

Awards

Olympics

London 2012 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 ...

** Olympic gold medal, Women's BMX * Rio de Janeiro 2016 ** Olympic gold medal, Women's BMX (First Colombian to achieve 2 gold medals at the Olympic Games) *

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

** Olympic silver medal, Women's BMX