August 10, 2012 (London, UK) – Maris Strombergs of Latvia and Colombia’s Mariana Pajon won the men’s and women’s Olympic Games BMX titles at the London 2012 BMX Track on Friday. Strombergs successfully defended his title, with world champion Sam Willoughby of Australia finishing second and Colombia’s Carlos Oquendo third.

In the women’s race, Pajon edged out New Zealand’s Sarah Walker to take the title, with Laura Smulders of the Netherlands claiming bronze.

Strombergs, who repeated his gold medal-winning performance from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, said, “It’s just an amazing feeling. I think everybody at home, they watched the race and deep inside they weren’t expecting it, but they’re hoping that I could repeat and I think the whole country believed in me. As long as my coach has belief in me, then that’s the most important thing.'”

Pajon was equally pleased, “I can’t believe it. It’s like a dream come true. My whole life I am trying to win this. I wanted go out the gate and win it. It’s unbelievable.”