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BMX semifinals at London Olympics - Source: Reuters -
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Filled with adrenalin and peppered with spectacular crashes, BMX has been trying to make its case as an Olympic sport in just its second appearance at the Games.
Flying through the air like the scene from the movie "ET", the riders have been appealing to the younger generations, with soccer great David Beckham bringing his kids to watch Latvia's Maris Strombergs and Colombian Mariana Pajon triumph in the men's and women's finals respectively yesterday.
"It doesn't take a very big attention span," said Australian silver medallist Sam Willoughby. "It's over in 40 seconds and it's exciting as everyone has seen.
"I haven't seen anyone at this Games who didn't want to watch BMX. It's an action-packed sport, with all the things that appeal to the younger generation."
But BMX, which was held on a 450m track (440m for women) this year, is not just fun, despite the loud music being played throughout the day at the VeloPark.
"For myself, it just gets tougher against these young kids," said Strombergs. "I can see myself out there - I'm one of the old guys in BMX and I'm just 25."
Pajon explained that she had to get rid of her girly side to win the women's title.
"Off the track, I'm all woman," she said. "But on the track, I change completely, and I become aggressive and I race like a man.
"Then, at the end of the race, I become a girl again and, of course, I cried. I didn't believe it - I cried a lot of tears."
New Zealand's Sarah Walker said there had already been improvement in the sport since it made its first Olympic appearance in Beijing four years ago.
"The depth in the women's field now is crazy," said the silver medallist.
Asked if the final, decided over only one run lasting about 40 seconds, was too much of a lottery, Walker said even the semifinals, decided over three runs at the Olympics, were on one run only in World Cup events.
"You could race that race 20 minutes later and the result would be totally different," she said.
But that is the beauty of the sport.
"It was scary that four years of hard work would come down to 40 seconds," Walker said.
Laura Smulders of the Netherlands, the bronze medallist, added that BMX was more competitive than ever.
"In Beijing, the track was smaller," she said. "Here in London, the jumps are bigger, too
"Now BMX is a bigger sport."