00:00Mariana Pajón had to learn to walk twice.
00:03The first, like any girl.
00:05The second time, after the sport he loved most destroyed one of his knees.
00:11However, she taught Colombia what it means to win.
00:16Mariana grew up on a bicycle.
00:19He was five years old when he suffered his first collarbone fracture.
00:22Then came many more.
00:24More than 20 fractures, injuries and recoveries.
00:27He learned that the road to glory was also made of pain.
00:31Despite all that, he never stopped pedaling.
00:34London 2012 was the day that changed history.
00:37She was barely 20, when 12 years after Maria Isabel Urrutia's gold medal in Sydney 2000,
00:43Mariana won Colombia's second Olympic title in history.
00:47He did it in BMX, with an authority that seemed impossible for someone so young.
00:53He won again in Rio 2016.
00:55Two consecutive games, two golds.
00:57She became the first Colombian woman to defend an Olympic title.
01:02Something that seemed invincible.
01:04However, even legends, no matter how unbeatable they may seem, also fall.
01:10In 2018, an accident in the Netherlands tore the ligaments in his left knee.
01:16The champion who had dominated the world had to regain her strength, her confidence, and practically learn to walk again.
01:24time.
01:25Until Tokyo arrived in 2021.
01:27If the Olympic Games had been in 2020, the woman from Antioquia would not have made it.
01:32But the pandemic gave him another year.
01:34And then Mariana won the silver.
01:36His third Olympic medal did not have the brilliance of the other two golds.
01:40But behind that medal was one of the hardest victories.
01:45To manage to return.
01:46Two Olympic golds, one silver, 18 world titles.
01:49The numbers that made her a legend.
01:52His failures precisely explain his greatness.
01:55After Paris 2024 came a much deeper change.
01:59In November 2025, Teo, her first child, was born to her and her husband.
02:03Mariana found a happiness that did not depend on medals or stopwatches.
02:08A new stage began, that of being a mother.
02:11However, his sporting story is not over.
02:14This year, in July 2026, he won a national gold medal in track cycling.
02:19In September, he competed in the team sprint qualifying event at the South American Games in Santa Fe, Argentina.
02:27And in October, he returned to BMX by winning a competition in Florida.
02:31At 35, Mariana is still going strong, she's still winning.
02:36And he still dreams of Los Angeles 2028.
02:39He hasn't been living off his memories.
02:41He is writing a new chapter in his story.
02:44Because the girl who learned to get up after every fall.
02:47And the mother who wins again today, they are the same.
02:49A woman who never stopped starting over.
02:52Mariana Pajón won the Sportswoman of the Year award twice, in 2012 and 2021.
02:59Our award has recognized the best athletes in Colombia since 1960.
03:04This year, on December 10th, we will once again present the award to the most outstanding athletes of the season.
03:11They will join the long list of famous athletes who have been part of our history.
03:17Who is the best athlete in Colombia?
