A podium (plural podia) is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many public speakers. Podium has also come to mean the object a speaker stands behind and sets papers or books upon even when it is at floor level, though the correct term for that item is lectern. The terms are not identical; one typically stands on a podium, but one typically stands behind a lectern.

In sports, a type of podium is used to honor the top three competitors in events such as the Olympics. In the Olympics a three level podium is used, the highest level in the centre holds the gold medalist, to their right is a somewhat lower one for the silver medalist. To the left of the gold medalist is an even lower platform for the bronze medalist. In many sports, results in the top three of a competition are often referred to as podiums, or podium finishes. In some individual sports, "podiums" is an official statistic, referring to the number of top three results an athlete has achieved over the course of a season or career.

James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime Achievement award. He was a major MGM contract star. He also had a noted military career and was a World War II and Vietnam War veteran, who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve.

James Maitland Stewart was born on May 20, 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania, the son of Elizabeth Ruth (née Jackson) and Alexander Maitland Stewart, who owned a hardware store. Stewart's parents were of Scottish descent and Presbyterians. His maternal ancestors served in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the American Civil War. The eldest of three children (he had two younger sisters, Virginia and Mary), he was expected to continue his father's business, which had been in the family for three generations. His mother was an excellent pianist but his father discouraged Stewart's request for lessons. But when his father accepted a gift of an accordion from a guest, young Stewart quickly learned to play the instrument, which became a fixture off-stage during his acting career. As the family grew, music continued to be an important part of family life.

Chad Mark Reed AM (born 15 March 1982, in Kurri Kurri, Australia) is an Australian motocross and supercross racer. He is a multi-time supercross and motocross champion. He was taught from a young age as being capable of competing at the sports most elite level. He has proven to be the most consistent supercross/motocross racer in the 2000-2009 decade. He has since ascended the international ranks of the sport to become Australia's most successful motocross racer.

After a few years of honing his skills on 80s, Chad's amateur career really started to take off in 1997 when he took the top spot at the Australian Junior Championship aboard a Suzuki Australia-backed RM125. The following year, he was offered a spot on the Factory Suzuki team, where he piloted his RM250 to win several rounds of the Australian Motocross Championship, but was unable to compete in the Supercross Series because he was not yet sixteen years old.

2010 Reed raced the first round of the 2010 Super X series held at Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle on a Honda sponsored by Vodafone. Reed won the event beating Americans Josh Hansen and Justin Brayton who finished in second and third respectively.

Ryan Villopoto (born August 13, 1988 in Fortuna, California, resident in Poulsbo, Washington) is a motocross and supercross champion who currently competes in the AMA Supercross series and the AMA Lucas Oil Motocross series. He resides in Menifee, California and will race for Kawasaki in the 2012 supercross and outdoor motocross series.

2012
Another perfect season that Villopoto wins and clinches the 2012 AMA Supercross Champion and the 2012 World Supercross Champion for the second time, and is the first repeat champion since Ricky Carmichael in 2006. However, during the Main of Round 15 in Seattle, he suffered a knee injury after the big crash, which was the same thing happened in 2010 during the Round 14 in St. Louis. The most serious of the injuries required surgery for a torn ACL. Consequently, Villopoto will be out for the remainder of the two rounds, even though he clinched the Supercross title with a score of 323 points. Still recuperating from his knee surgery, he was unable to compete in the 2012 AMA Motocross series.

Aliya Fargatovna Mustafina (Russian: Алия Фаргатовна Мустафина, Tatar: Алия Фәрхәт кызы Мостафина, Alia Ferhad kyzy Mustafina) (born 30 September 1994 in Yegorievsk, Russia) is a Russian artistic gymnast. In 2010, Aliya won a gold medal and was the all-around title winner at the World Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam. She was the 2009 Russian national champion in the all around and on the balance beam.

Mustafina came to international prominence as a gymnast in her first major junior competition, the 2007 International Junior Competition. She won silver medals in the all-around, the uneven bars, the vault, the balance beam, and the floor exercise. Rebecca Bross won all five of those competitions. As a result of these championships, both Mustafina and Bross were predicted to be major forces in gymnastics in the years to come, a prediction that was borne out by subsequent results.

Later that year, Mustafina finished second in the all-around at the Gymnix International in Montreal. She also finished second with the Russian team in the Stella Zakharova Cup.