Olympic Games champion who was robbed in horrific smash and grab attack makes flying start to BMX title defence in Paris

Logan Martin has smoothly advanced through the BMX freestyle qualifiers, achieving the third-best score in a positive comeback for the reigning Olympic champion.

Australia’s sole cycling gold medalist from the Tokyo Games posted an average score of 89.39 across his two runs at the Paris skate park on Tuesday.

Fellow Aussie Natalya Diehm secured her spot in Wednesday’s medal round with the eighth-best score and is feeling confident.

‘I’m quite satisfied with my performance… I tend to feel more nerves on days like this, as a safety run isn’t usually an option,’ Martin stated.

‘It certainly boosts my confidence.

‘I’ve faced some challenges leading up to this, but I’m healthy and raring to go now.

‘I have the advantage of heading into tomorrow as the only one here with an Olympic gold medal.’

Despite the sweltering heat of the open-air stadium, both Martin and Diehm felt the conditions were manageable.

Logan Martin has made a formidable start to his Olympic gold medal defense.

The Australian finished just behind two competitors in qualifying in Paris on Tuesday.

‘It is extremely hot – I keep saying that Australians do have the edge today.

‘It is indeed challenging, but we can endure it.’

Martin, who excelled in BMX freestyle’s Olympic debut in Tokyo, encountered a tougher preparation leading to Paris.

He did not qualify for the final in the second of two qualifying events, yet this did not impact his Olympic selection.

Last week, he had personal belongings stolen from a van in Brussels while he was making his final preparations for the Games.

Although he was thankful that his bikes were not in the van, Martin described it as a ‘crazy’ way to start his Games journey.

Only British competitor Kieran Reilly (91.21) and American Marcus Christopher (89.48) achieved higher scores than Martin.

The Olympic champion’s van was broken into by thieves in Belgium before the Games started.

French rider Anthony Jeanjean, who was in top form heading into the Olympics, placed fifth among the nine finalists.

Diehm, who has undergone five knee reconstructions, improved on her second run, scoring an average of 83.89.

American silver medalist from Tokyo, Hannah Roberts, led the qualifiers with a score of 91.45.

‘I’m extremely pleased, incredibly relieved – thrilled I was able to execute two successful runs,’ Diehm remarked.

‘We all approached today with a mindset to play it a bit safer… in the second run (on Wednesday), we’ll go all out and hope to land it.’

Unlike the qualifying rounds, where the average of two runs determined each rider’s ranking, the final will be based on the best of the two scores.