Crash prevents Sakakibara from living out dream for her and bro
AUSSIE BMX rider Saya Sakakibara finished her heartbreaking run at the Tokyo Olympics, saying she feels like she let her older brother down.
The 21-year-old’s brother Kai suffered life-altering injuries in a major crash while competing at the Bathurst World Cup in February 2020.
He spent eight weeks in a coma, before he was moved from a hospital in Canberra to the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit in Sydney.
The sibling duo had dreamed of going to their first Olympics together, and Saya had made it her goal to come home with a medal for Kai.
But her dream crumbled in her second semi-final heat on Friday, when she and top USA rider Alise Willoughby collided, and crashed down onto the concrete track.
Sakakibara, who was leading the heat and well on her way to qualifying for the finals, lay motionless on the track as medics rushed to her aid.
She was stretchered off the course and assessed by doctors. At the time Saya showed signs of a mild concussion, but after 30 minutes fully recovered and was medically cleared.
Her first question to the medics was “did I qualify” and “can I compete”, but sadly she missed out on a finals spot by just one position.
The 21-year-old broke down in tears after speaking to her family and being released from the medical tent, saying she felt like she’d let her brother, and Australia, down.
“Seeing my family was really emotional, because they were so happy to see I was OK and I feel like I let them down so much,” she said.
“I just wanted to show Kai everything he’s done for me. I just wanted to give him a really great result for both of us. I can’t believe it’s all over.”
Willoughby was also knocked out of finals following the crash, which her husband Sam said “really hurt”.
Sam, an Australian Olympic BMX medallist himself, knows all too well the dangers of BMX racing, after a crash left him paraplegic.