Logan Martin's brilliant act for Natalya Diehm amid heartache for Aussie BMX star at Olympics

Logan Martin might have been dethroned as the king of Olympic freestyle cycling but he was all class as instead of reflecting on what could have been he hailed surprise BMX women's bronze medallist Natalya Diehm. Diehm was beside herself with joy after delivering the performances of her life to become the first Australian woman ever to claim a BMX freestyle medal at the Olympics on Wednesday night (AEDT).

"We've never medalled at a World Cup event at all. So to do it here on the biggest world stage, that's going down in history. I've written history today. That's insane," Diehm said after her bronze medal success.

And despite his own personal disappointment, crashing out of both his final runs in his final, Martin, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion not only was one of the first to go congratulate Diehm on her monumental achievement but the only thing he wanted to talk about was what his teammate had just achieved. "It's awesome what she's done," Martin said.

"She's just wanted to make a podium - and she's made the biggest one ever. For her to now have an Olympic medal, I'm super proud of her."

Diehm made Australian history by thriving in the intense heat and under an even more stifling spotlight as many of her medal opponents crashed on their runs as they messed up highly complicated and risky tricks.

The Aussie set the tone from the start, with the first rider crashing early on her run before Diehm, the second to go, posted a huge 88.80 on her first run, a total that ended up winning her a historic medal. She then watched on as one by one, her main threats slipped up, leaving her third when US five-time world champion Hannah Roberts emerged to try to beat eventual Chinese winner Yawen Deng (92.60) and American Perris Benegas (90.70).

Roberts, who crashed out hard while attempting to do a flip in her first run, then fell again on her final chance, this time on her first trick, to send her packing without a medal and seal the bronze for Diehm. "It was definitely one of the most nerve-wracking moments of my life," Diehm said about watching Roberts' final attempt.

"Hannah Roberts is one of my best friends, and I know how good she is. I just didn't know which way it was going to go and didn't want to wish bad on anyone. But I wanted that podium so bad. I can't believe it's here."

It's been a long and painful journey for Diehm to Olympic bronze. The Aussie has considered quitting on multiple occasions due to a multitude of injuries. As a result of her BMX career, Diemh has required five surgeries to repair a battered knee and has also suffered broken wrists, elbows and dislocated shoulders. But she persevered and now can call herself an Olympic medallist.

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Martin had a day to forget in the BMX final, as he failed to replicate his gold medal-winning performance from Tokyo. An early error cost him dearly in the first run, with his foot touching the floor and the front wheel of his BMX clipping the edge of a jump just before the end, sending him tumbling to the track.

While on the second run, knowing he needed to post a 93.77 or better to get a bronze, he went for broke and came up short. After a double flare, Martin landed heavily and knew his dream of gold was over. His first-round score of 64.40 ended up being his best, as he finished at the bottom of the leaderboard in ninth.

Torres Gil took the gold with a 94.82 run, ahead of Britain's Kieran Reilly (93.91) and local hero Anthony Jeanjean (93.76). Following the race, an understandably disappointed Martin vowed to be back.

"I don't think I pushed it too far. I just don't think it was my day," Martin said. "I did all this stuff in practice, but the execution wasn't there for me today. But I'm gonna keep competing. This is definitely not the end for me."

with AAP