Natalya Diehm becomes a bronzed Aussie in Paris

Natalya Diehm has won Australia’s first ever women’s BMX Freestyle Olympic medal after a career defining performance in Paris.

The Australian was second to drop in of the nine women set for the final and Diehm didn’t waste any time putting her stamp on the competition.

With only 60 seconds on the clock, the Queenslander put down a run that had the judges impressed to record a 88.80 thanks to a run that included a “no-footed can can”, a backflip with at 180 degree turn and tyre grabs.

The Queenslander sat in second place heading into the final run and she wowed the crowd with a perfectly landed front flip, the first of the competition.

The 26-year-old while not improving on her second score had done enough to end on the podium, another slice of history in the sport.

Natalya Diehm completes a backflip at the finals in Paris.

“I wanted this so bad, to be the first Aussie female rider to get a medal at an Olympic Games.

“I’ve written history today, which is insane!”

“Definitely one of the most nerve-racking moments of my life.

“My first run crazy enough was to be my safe run and my second was to go harder where I pulled out the front flip.

Chinese athlete Yewen Deng second run score of 92.60 was enough to secure the  BMX freestyle gold, the first ever for China.

Results