Olympics Field Guide: Alise Post, The 21-Year-Old "Beast” Of Women's BMX

Name: Alise Post

Sport: BMX

Hometown: St. Cloud, Minn.

Age: 21

Why you should care about her: Post turned pro in 2006 at age 15 and promptly became the youngest female to win the American Bicycle Association national title. She then became the first female voted Rookie of the Year by the readers of BMX'er Magazine.

Post successfully defended her title in 2007, and has been one of the best female BMX riders in the world ever since. Her dominance earned her the nickname "The Beast." Last July, however, she suffered a gruesome knee injury in a training accident. Post tore her ACL, LCL and her hamstring. She also had a hairline fracture in her femur and a detached meniscus, among other things. The injury put her chances of making the Olympic team in serious jeopardy, but after rehabbing for months, Post was able to return to competition in February. After her World Cup victory in May, she's back on top.

Olympic/world championships experience: Post missed out on competing at the Beijing Games in 2008 due to the 19 year-old age requirement; she was only 17 at the time. In May she won the Supercross World Cup in the Netherlands.

Sexy-pose threat level:

Previous sexy poses:

Olympic archetype: Shaun White. White appeared in his first Olympics (the 2006 winter games in Turin) at the age of only 20, and he, like Post, competed in an action sport.

Scouting report from some guy on the internet: Twitter user "Antonio" (@utbmxkid):

Alise Post is a babe.

Scouting report from home country: From Post's hometown St. Cloud Times:

Post is a 2009 [Technical Senior High School (St. Cloud, MN)] graduate. She lives and trains in Chula Vista, Calif., near San Diego. Post is a former state champion high school gymnast.

Post is the first graduate of a St. Cloud high school to qualify for the Olympic since Carol Peterka. [...] Post makes the Olympic team after missing several months because of a serious injury in a crash that kept her off the circuit and out of training.

Did you know?: Post is dating Sam Willoughby, an Australian BMX rider who is a favorite to take gold in the men's competition.

Forecast for 2012: She's a favorite to take the gold. Arielle Martin is the top-ranked woman in the USA Cycling power rankings, and should present a challenge for Post. Defending gold medalist Anne-Caroline Chausson won't be in London, as she is now retired, neither will American Jill Kintner, the bronze medal winner in Beijing, since Post is taking the final of two spots for American riders. Laëtitia Le Corguillé, who won the silver in 2008, will be competing in London, but Post is coming off a strong showing at the World Cup in the Netherlands and has to be considered one of the top riders in the world.

Relevant Bob Costas face: