Heading into the BMX World Championships in China, the 22-year-old Cedar Hills native had a commanding lead in the rankings to determine who would capture the only automatic berth to represent the U.S. in the newest Olympic sport. What's more, she had been so consistent and so successful - she was the only American to have scored in all 15 races since missing last year's world championships while recovering from knee surgery - that she figured to be the runaway discretionary choice for the presumptive second berth, should something somehow go wrong.

Unless, of course, everything went wrong.

In a devastating confluence of events, Martin crashed and finished last in her quarterfinal race Saturday, failing to advance or score any ranking points while friend, rival and roommate Jill Kintner of Seattle roared all the way to the final, just weeks after fearing her Olympic dream had been shattered by a training crash that injured her right knee.

Stunningly, then, two French riders in the eight-woman final sputtered, allowing Kintner to finish sixth and earn just enough points to eclipse Martin by one in the national rankings - 129 to 128 - and grab the automatic berth to Beijing.

"I didn't even know it was possible," Kintner told The Associated Press from Taiyuan, China. "For it to come down like this, I don't know what to think. There had to be some higher forces working for me."

Not for Martin, though.

While Kintner finished high enough to seize the automatic berth, she did not finish high enough to earn the U.S. a second starting spot at the Olympics.

An American needed to be fourth or higher at worlds for that to happen, according to a USA Cycling spokesman, which means that barring an unexpected change when the International Cycling Union confirms the national rankings next week, Martin will be staying home while Kintner races for Olympic gold.

"I was crying because of that more than because I made it," said Kintner, who the AP said was with Martin when USA Cycling's BMX director Mike King came into their hotel room Saturday evening and broke the news. "Today, it's a lot more bitter than sweet. Tomorrow, it might be a different story."

While Kintner is a three-time world champion in the mountain-biking discipline of mountain-cross who returned to BMX when it was added to the Olympic program, Martin has been a professional BMX rider since she was a 15-year-old sophomore at Lone Peak High School who instantly set her sights on gold when the IOC added her sport for the Beijing Games.

Neither Martin nor her parents could be reached Saturday, and it's uncertain what her next move will be. Martin has been training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in California - Kintner is her roommate there, too - while her husband serves a tour of duty in Afghanistan as a helicopeter mechanic for the U.S. Army.

At a media event for potential Olympians in April, Kintner praised Martin as a wonderful friend without whom she might never have made it so far. She also said the two shared a bond from having to live away from their loved ones; Kintner's boyfriend lives in Australia.

"I don't know if I'd be here without her, really," Kintner said. "I've helped her and she's helped me. We're in it together, till the end. I mean, I'm making that team, but if she makes it, I'll be more happy to share it with her, because we've had the same experience."

mcl@sltrib.com