Donny Robinson is currently the eldest AA-pro in our sport - having turned Pro in 1999. His moniker is “dR” (his initials), often followed by 10 (his UCi career number. According to Wikipedia, the use of the lowercase “d” for his given name is perhaps related to his relatively diminutive physical size. Always small in stature, since a very young age, Donny was always the smallest child in his age group. But what he missed out on in size, he far made up for it in heart, drive and determination. On June 25, 2008, Robinson was chosen by Mike King, team director of the 2008 USA BMX Olympic Team, to represent the U.S.A.. His teammates at the 2008 Beijing debut were Jill Kintner, Mike Day, and Kyle Bennett. His Olympic dream was realized at least in part when he came in third at the Summer Olympics winning a Bronze Medal; avoiding a pileup that saw South Africa’s Sifiso Nhlapo take out nearly half the field. Since it was the sport’s debut and the Mens final was run after the women’s, he officially became the third American and the sixth person overall to win an Olympic Medal in BMX Racing. Throughout his career and often since Beijing, dR has gained a reputation of landing onhis head. A LOT. One of the toughest guys around, he admitted in late 2013 to suffering at least 25 concussions over the course of his career. In the same interview, he advocated for better concussion protocol at the lower levels of BMX racing. Donny’s great sense of rumor - mocking his own reputations as the “little, old guy with memory loss” has boosted dR’s popularity, and he always seems to be a fan favorite, drawing the most cheers from the crowd.

Māris Štrombergs (born March 10, 1987 in Valmiera, Latvia) is a professional BMX racer - hailing from Latvia but currently living in Murrieta, California. In the 2008 Summer Olympics (held in Beijing, China), Maris became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling. Earlier that year, he’d won the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships - also held in China. By doing so, Maris became the first Latvian-born Olympian to ever win a Gold medal - instantly boosting him up to Superhero status in his home country. Four years later, he prolonged his Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympic games - completely dominating the main event, and doing a great job of holding off Sam Willoughby for the win. Upon returning from the 2012 Olympics, Strombergs was greeted by thousands of fans in his hometown Valmiera - and whenever he visits back home in Latvia, he is a huge recognizable, sports celebrity.

Despite being one of the best female BMX racers in the U.S. back in 2008, Alise Post was denied a spot on the Olympic team because, at age 17, she was too young. At the time, the age minimum for an Olympic BMX racer in 2008 was 19. The young BMX star from St. Cloud, Minn., who was accustomed to racing at the sport’s top level, was forced to witness BMX’s pinnacle event from afar. To distract herself from the disappointment, Alise spread herself thin across three sports: BMX, gymnastics, and track and field, while maintaining a 4.0 grade average. Throughout her years, Alise has accomplished plenty: Multiple NAG No.1 titles in ABA 2001 ABA National No.1 Girl 2003 ABA National No.1 Girl Cruiser 2004 ABA National No.1 Girl Cruiser 2006 ABA National No.1 Woman Pro 2006 Golden Crank Rookie Pro of the Year 2007 ABA National No.1 Woman Pro Yet, the Olympic dream was still at the top of her list. Overcoming injuries and fresh competition brought new challenges to her. By the end of 2009, Post was back among the world’s best. Once she became eligible for the 2012 Olympic Games, Alise took her BMX dedication to a whole new level - training with Australia’s Sean Dwight. Upon graduating high school in 2009, Alise retired from gymnastics and track and field in order to relocate — at the invitation of USA Cycling — to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.. Although she remained busy by continuing her education as a full-time student at the University of San Diego for the 2009-10 academic year and by increasing her involvement on the BMX World Cup circuit, she saw big improvements in the beginning of 2010. As a result, she resolved to narrow her focus yet again by making the difficult decision to take a break from college and completely dedicate herself to racing. Within months of this decision, Alise claimed a place as the top-ranked American, both nationally and internationally, by taking third place at both her first Elite World Championship, and at a World Cup race on her home track in Chula Vista. A true competitor, the 5’2”, 120 lb. Post overcame yet another injury and was back on her bike in time to successfully defend her USA Cycling national championship title in the spring of 2012 and wound up making her Olympic dream come true - as she was chosen for Team USA and set to head to London. The London Olympic games has its ups and downs, as all of Minnesota and the BMX World were cheering her on. A crash in the semi KO’ed her for a second or two, and in front of the World stage, she insisted on crossing the finishline with her bike - albeit, a bit wobbly and discombobulated. It was an unfortunate way to finish off her chase for a medal - but she already has her sights set for Brazil in 2016.

2012 USOC Olympic Trials winner 2012 U.S. Olympic Team member 2013 UCI BMX World Champion Time Trial 2013 UCI BMX World Cup Elite Mens Winner 2013 UCI BMX World Cup Time Trail Winner 2013 RedBull Revolution Winner