Helensburgh’s Olympian shared her story with Caitlin Sloan.
Helensburgh’s Saya Sakakibara is back on home soil. The 21-year-old world-class athlete returned to Australia in late September after competing at this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games in the women’s BMX racing competition.
A crash in the semi-finals cut her Tokyo ride short, but Saya’s Olympic ambitions are far from over. While completing her 14-day quarantine in Melbourne, she kindly took time to talk about her experiences, and what’s next.
How were you feeling leading up to the Games?
I was confident in what I’d prepared, and I was going there to enjoy it. I had never trained as hard.
How was life in the Olympic village?
Really awesome! The Australian building had a great set-up with food, [a] recovery centre, a gym, medical/physio support as well as a barista on ground level… I actually was never bored… It was also hot! So, I didn’t spend too much time outside on my feet. It was all about conserving energy.
After progressing through a tough quarter-final race series, how were you feeling before the semi-finals?
Mentally drained. It was an emotional roller-coaster of a day. Especially when I didn’t start the day well,
I had a sense of panic that I needed to do much better if I didn’t want my Olympic dream to end here… The fact that I was able to turn the day around and finish off with a win in my heat made me feel so relieved that [I’d] secured my spot into the semis. It proved to me that I can adapt and face anything, and that gave me the confidence I needed coming into an even tougher day two.
Although your last semi-final run didn’t go to plan, how do you feel looking back on that experience?
At the time, I was so upset, angry and disappointed. I honestly couldn’t believe that happened when I could actually see myself winning a medal … I reminded myself that no result will define who I am as a person, and although a medal would’ve been freaking amazing, it is only the start of the story to my next Olympic endeavour.
How has your recovery been since the crash?
A month went by and I still wasn’t 100 percent. Talking to four different doctors, had an MRI scan and I wasn’t able to get a clear answer … I’m not fit to race at this point, so it was a good time to go back [to Australia] and get this sorted for real. Even though my symptoms have improved, I want to make sure it’s treated properly so they don’t come back when I start training again… I am so keen to get back to riding!
What was it like having your mum, Yuki, and your brother, Kai, in Tokyo supporting you?
I had my Grandma watching alongside Mum and Kai too. It would’ve been really amazing if they were able to actually come to the venue to watch. Even if they weren’t there physically, I knew that they were watching at home and supporting me.
What was it like to see all the support back home?
I found it so humbling to be part of such an awesome community, [which] really helped me find perspective post-Olympics when I felt a huge sense of failure… I couldn’t believe the overwhelming number of messages and photos that were sent to me to cheer me on … What was most special was seeing photos from the Helensburgh community on school news boards, dressing up the miner statue and having a gelato flavour named after me… I really want to thank everyone who was behind this.
What have you been up to since the Olympics?
Spending time with my boyfriend in France! We haven’t been able to spend much time together due to the travel restrictions so [we’re] just enjoying being together.
What’s ahead for you in your BMX career?
Hopefully a lot! Being an Olympian was a huge goal of mine but that isn’t everything! There is so much more I want to achieve… Olympic qualifications start up again mid [next] year so it’s already an important year. It’s not over yet!
