Gabriela Maria Diaz

Who is Gabriela Maria Diaz?

María Gabriela Díaz is an Argentine professional BMX 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 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, and later represented her nation Argentina at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Diaz sought sporting headlines at the UCI BMX World Championships, where she claimed a total of five medals in the women's elite category, making her the world's most decorated female rider of all time. At the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 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 2008 Summer Olympics 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.