Australian BMX star Logan Martin 2nd in Oly qualifier

Australian BMX star Logan Martin has all but guaranteed himself the chance to defend his Olympic freestyle title in Paris by finishing second at the qualifying tournament in Shanghai.

Racing in the final heat of the men’s final, Martin looked set to make a big score in his first run, but fell with just seconds left.

It meant he needed a strong performance in the second run and the 30-year-old proved well up to the task.

He produced a quad tail whip, a tuck no-handed front flip and a 900, earning a score of 92.65, which was good enough for second place behind Frenchman Anthony JeanJean.

“I started the (first) run with a couple of average landings, and I missed a transition a little bit, so halfway through my run I was pretty gassed, I was a little tired, and then I slipped on one of my tricks and slid out ” said Martin.

“And when I started that second run, I knew I had to clean up those first few landings so I could continue the run smoothly and finish that run.

“I’m excited to complete these qualifying events and do my best to qualify for Paris.

“I would like to go to the Olympics again and do my best to back up my performance in Tokyo and give myself a good chance to win another gold medal.”

Compatriot Natalya Diehm qualified eighth for the women’s top final and finished ninth.

She will now turn her attention to the next Olympic qualifying tournament in Budapest in June.

At the BMX Racing World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Australian world champion Saya Sakakibara could not recover from a poor start in the women’s final and finished last.

The world title went to the American Alise Willoughby, the wife of the Australian Sam Willoughby, the silver medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.