Another concussion in June 2022 in the middle of her World Cup campaign pushed Sakakibara towards breaking point. “I didn’t have a choice because my brother, Kai, was absolutely obsessed with riding bikes,” said Sakakibara. The start of the Tokyo Games, Sakakibara said, was “a big mess,” as she finished last in her first race. Sakakibara is carried away after a crash during the semifinal of BMX racing at the Tokyo Games. Now, Sakakibara is a two-time World Cup champion and has high expectations to become an Olympic medalist in Paris.

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Persons: Saya Sakakibara, Sakakibara, “, ” Sakakibara, ”, ’ ”, Kai, Hannah Peters, ” Kai, Alise Willoughby, Pete Dovgan, Chris Hyde, Saakibara Organizations: CNN, Tokyo Games, CNN Sport, US Centers for Disease Control, BMX, Getty, Los Angeles Paralympic Games, Speed, Olympic, Games, Paris Locations: Switzerland, Australia, British, Japan, —, New South Wales, Tokyo, Australian, Paris, Yvelines