Saya Sakakibara

Saya Sakakibara (born 23 August 1999)^[1] is an Australian cyclist competing in BMX racing events.

Saya Sakakibara
OAM

Sakakibara in 2022
Personal information
Born	(1999-08-23) 23 August 1999 (age 25) Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Medal record Representing  Australia Women's BMX racing Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 0 0 World Championships 0 1 0 World Junior Championships 0 1 0 World Cup 2 2 0 World Cup rounds 10 7 3 Oceania Championships 2 0 0 Oceania Junior Championships 2 0 0 Total 17 11 3 Olympic Games 2024 Paris BMX racing World Championships 2025 Copenhagen BMX racing World Cup 2023 BMX racing 2024 BMX racing 2018 BMX racing 2020 BMX racing Oceania Championships 2019 Te Awamutu BMX racing 2023 Rotorua BMX racing World Junior Championships 2017 Rock Hill BMX racing Oceania Junior Championships 2016 Auckland BMX racing 2017 Bathurst BMX racing

Early life

Sakakibara was born on the Gold Coast, Queensland, to a mother of Japanese heritage and a father of British citizenship.^[2] She started BMX racing at the age of four after watching her older brother Kai competing.^[3][4] The family moved to Sydney in 2007 and Sakakibara joined the South Illawarra BMX Club where her brother Kai was a member. She then began competing on the junior circuits and quickly rose through the ranks winning state and national titles.^[5]

Personal life

As of 2019, Sakakibara is dating fellow BMX racer, Romain Mahieu.^[6]

Career

Sakakibara has represented Australia at World Championship level. She won a silver medal in the Junior Elite BMX Supercross at the 2017 World Championships. She was awarded AusCycling's Female BMX Racing Rider of the Year in 2020.^[7] She was selected for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics as part of the Australian team.^[8][9] She crashed in the semi-finals of the Olympics and did not qualify for the final.^[10]

She won the 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup and retained her title in Tulsa in 2024.^[11]

She won gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.^[12]

Major results

2016

1st Junior Elite BMX Supercross National Championships

1st Junior Elite BMX Supercross Oceania Championships

2017

1st Junior Elite BMX Supercross National Championships

1st Junior Elite BMX Supercross Oceania Championships

2nd Junior Elite BMX Supercross World Championships

2018

6th Elite BMX Supercross World Championships

2019

1st Elite BMX Supercross Oceania Championships

1st Elite Tokyo 2020 BMX Test Event

7th Elite BMX Supercross World Championships

2021

1st Superclass Women BMX National Championships^[13]

2023

1st UCI BMX Racing World Cup^[14]

1st Oceania Championships^[15]

1st Elite BMX National Championships

2024

1st UCI BMX Racing World Cup^[16]

XXXIII Olympics (Paris 2024) Gold Medal Women's Cycling BMX Racing

2025

2nd UCI BMX World Championships, Elite