Saya Sakakibara’s Olympic dream comes true

Saya Sakakibara has realised her Olympic dream, becoming the first-ever Australian to win a gold medal in BMX Racing.  

There was no stopping the 24-year-old from New South Wales as she had a flawless campaign on her way to becoming the 2024 Olympic champion in Paris.

Up against the current world champion Alise Willoughby (USA) and defending Olympic champion Bethany Schriever (GBR), Sakakibara lined up from gate 1 and was a picture of focus and composure as her family cheered from the crowd.  

And she didn’t falter, making the final a carbon copy of her previous races by winning the hole-shot and gapping the field to cross the line bike lengths ahead of Manon Veenstra (NED) and Zoe Claessens (SUI)  in a time of 34.321.  

As she crossed the line, Sakakibara was overcome with emotion as she realised what she had achieved.  

“I can’t believe it right now, it's all a blur, this whole day was a blur. I feel like it’s a dream. It’s real right?” she said in a post-race interview with Channel 9. 

“Once I was at the top of top of the start hill, lane 1, it’s the most comfortable I've ever been.  I just knew I had it.   

“I just envisioned this moment, I visualised being on top of the podium, hearing the national anthem and having the gold medal."

While Sakakibara has proven she is one of the best BMX riders in the world by clinching the UCI World Cup overall title in 2023 and 2024, on the biggest stages the results had eluded her.  

After dominating the World Cup earlier in the year she had a disappointing result at the World Championships, where she finished eighth. 

“Every World Championships I messed up in the final. I thought I'd just be a World Cup winner and never win those big races. It just means so much,” she said.  

The past four years have been an emotional journey for the Southlake-Illawarra BMX Club rider, who considered retiring after crashing out of the Tokyo Olympics and suffering multiple concussions.

Her support for her brother, Kai, after his life-altering brain injury in 2020, has been unwavering.

At this, her second Olympic Games, she had a point to prove. 

“I just had to go, I just didn't want to leave here without giving my everything and making myself proud, making these setbacks worthwhile. 

“I knew either way it was going to end in tears. I just wanted to make sure they’re happy tears. I just wanted to make sure it was going to be a gold-medal story.”