The reigning queen of BMX cycling, Mariana Pajón is preparing to defend her Olympic gold at Rio 2016 and to show the watching world that women have what it takes to conquer the once male-dominated preserve of extreme sports.

"When I started out there weren't any women, and now there are loads. Although BMX cycling is an extreme sport, with contact, and there are more men, women can also compete," the 24-year-old Colombian told rio2016.com.

"Being a woman in this sport is beautiful. We can show people what women can achieve if they try. We are emotional and strong at the same time, with great mental strength."

Pajón was born in Medellín in Colombia and began cycling when still a child, outperforming boys of her own age almost immediately. "I remember my first title very well. It was in a local race in which there were only boys. I loved winning and beating them all," she says.

As only the second Colombian athlete ever to win Olympic gold, Pajón is a superstar in her cycling-mad home country and is a source of inspiration to young Colombian women. "The role of women in the Olympic movement is very important. We can show that we can be Olympic champions, that we can participate in any sport we want and do it well, just like men," she says.

Of the 10 Olympic medals that Colombia has won in history, seven of them have been won by women. 

"We can chase our dreams," Pajón says. "Women are more in the spotlight now, we can achieve great things. We can achieve our dreams, whatever we do."

Pajón in action in March in Argentina at the Santiago del Estero stage of the UCI BMX Super Cross World Cup (Photo: Getty Images/Maximiliano Blanco)

Defending the title

The BMX cycling event at Rio 2016 will take place from 17 August to 19 August at the new course in Deodoro in western Rio. Pajón is confident about her chances of defending the title she won in London.

"My preparation for the Olympic Games is going very well. We are in the last stretch of a four-year plan. After London we closed one chapter and opened another. I feel a lot better, I am a completely new person with more experience and more maturity in the sport."

Pajón has already visited the course twice and has also seen the Olympic Village close up.  "The course is beautiful," she says. "It's just right for the Games. You need good technique and it's going to be very good for racing. I love it."

Ranked no.1 by the International Cycling Union, Pajón says she undergoes a transformation when she straps her racing helmet on and starts racing. "I love how things change. I am a very calm, quite and feminine woman but when I get on a bicycle I change completely."

The BMX cycling course is located in the X-Park in Deodoro in western Rio de Janeiro (Photo: Rio 2016)

"I don't think it will be hard to repeat my success at London 2012," she says. "I am ready to give the best of myself again."

"I love getting on the bike, just before the start of the race, I love knowing that what I am doing is my passion and that I fought hard and trained hard to be here. I love that moment even more than winning: the adrenalin, the nerves. It's a feeling that inspires me to get up every day to try to be the best."

Pajón is used to the taste of victory and is looking forward to savouring gold again in Rio (Photo: Getty Images/Dean Mouhtaropoulos)