Arielle Martin

Martin used the painful memory of failing to make the 2008 Olympic team as motivation to get the job done in 2012. By owning the No. 1 spot in the USA Cycling BMX power rankings, Martin secured a place on the Olympic roster four years after she crashed in the quarterfinals of the 2008 world championships and missed her shot at an Olympic appearance in Beijing. Her close friend, Jill Kintner, did make the 2008 team and won bronze. Four years later, Martin has a strong chance to medal in London. The first American woman to win a BMX supercross world cup event in 2011, Martin finished fourth in the 2012 world championships after placing fifth in the same event one year earlier. In five career world championship races, Martin has never finished worse than eighth. The daughter of a BMX racer who ran a bike shop, Martin was destined to peddle. In addition to her career as a cyclist, she is an avid snowboarder who could see herself competing professionally in that sport if she was not a cyclist.