Saya Sakakibara

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

Personal and early life
Sakakibara was born in Australia to a mother of Japanese heritage and a father of British heritage. She started BMX racing at the age of four after watching her older brother competing. 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.

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. She was selected for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as part of the Australian team. She crashed in the semi-finals of the Olympics and didn't qualify for the final. Her accident was one of the scariest moments of the games, while her post-race heartbreak was one of the saddest.

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

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


 * 2023
 * 1st UCI BMX Racing World Cup
 * 1st Oceania Championships
 * 1st Elite BMX National Championships


 * 2024
 * 1st UCI BMX Racing World Cup