Saya Sakakibara has followed through on her promise to brother Kai to bring home inspiring gold
Saya Sakakibara has followed through on her promise to brother Kai to produce an inspiring cycling BMX gold medal run.
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This one is for you, bro.
Saya Sakakibara has climbed her Mt Everest by claiming Olympic gold in the BMX racing final in Paris.
The 23-year-old’s complete domination of the rest of the field - winning by almost a full-second - is one thing.
But what makes the stunning achievement even more special is that Sakakibara had made a pact to bring home a medal for her brother Kai.
Kai, who was forced to retire from BMX racing in 2020 after suffering a serious brain injury at a World Cup event, has been Sakakibara’s inspiration.
He was in the crowd to watch his sister wear his former race number of 77 scorch to victory.
In a beautiful moment, Sakakabira turned her bike around after the finish line and went back onto the track to search for her brother in the crowd.
News Corp was by Kai’s side as he raised his first in the air and held back tears as he acknowledged his sister’s triumph.
“I’m feeling everything and nothing at all,” Kai said.
“I can’t believe she’s actually done this.”
Told Sakikabara did it for him, he simply said: “Thanks mate.”
Sakakibara produced her customary blistering gate speed in the final, speeding into the first turn at around 60km/h.
She was never headed.
So dominant was Sakikabara that she went into the final at Saint-Quentin en Yvelines race track in Paris without losing a race - six in total.
Adding to the fairytale story was the fact that she was also diagnosed with Covid-19 just last Sunday.
She then missed her next two pivotal training sessions.
Her prized-jewellery from Paris is a reward for her persistence after almost walking from the sport due to repeated concussions, the most recent of which was when she crashed in the semi-final at the Tokyo games.
Sakakibara was candid when she spoke to TV after her win.
“I just envisaged the moment, I visualised being on the podium, hearing the national anthem and having the gold medal around my neck. I envisaged that,” she said.
“I knew it just came down to like a split second and all I had to do was just f**king go, and I just f**king went and I didn’t want to leave here without making myself proud. Make these setbacks worthwhile.
“I just want to see my parents, I couldn’t see them in the crowd. I saw Kai. I knew that either way I was going to end in tears. From the start of this week, I had COVID (at) the start of the week.
“Either way it is going to end in tears and I wanted to make sure they are happy tears.”--
Heartbreakingly, Izaac Kennedy crashed in the men’s BMX final.
The 23-year-old was in fourth position when he crashed heavily on the first turn.
He bravely found his feet, shaking his head as his dream of an Olympic medal came crashing down.
The 23-year-old did a remarkable job to make the final in his first Olympics.
Kennedy came into the games on the comeback trail from a broken wrist and required a protective guard to aid his ability to steer his bike.
Four-time Olympian Lauren Reynolds missed out on the final after veering off the course in her last qualifying race.
The 33-year-old was aiming to surpass her fifth-placed finish in Tokyo, but finished tenth overall.
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