How Saya Sakakibara is putting it back together - step by step, one day at a time

Saya Sakakibara is back. But not all the way back.

And the five-time BMX racing world champion knows it will take some time.

"It's definitely been a hard few months," the Australian told Channel Nine, ahead of rounds 3 and 4 of the UCI World Cup on 11th and 12th June (live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com).

Those months have been ones of recovery for Sakakibara. She was a medal favourite for the women's elite event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 and cruised through to the semi-final.

But leading the race, she crashed out. In a frightening scene, Sakakibara - whose mother is Japanese, father British - had to be stretchered off, badly concussed.

“I still feel the effects from Tokyo, not physically, but mentally… It took me a while to get back on the bike," she continued.

"For me to have two months off the bike and not have any solid training - I'm still working on getting my confidence back.

"There's still some of that fear left. It's a challenge.”

It has been almost a year since the Games in her other homeland - a lifelong dream she realised - but Sakakibara is yet to return to full health.

In December, she won the Australian national championships in a show of reprisal but in January, she went down again, with lung bruising and another concussion.

"Florida at the start of this year... That crash again, it shook me up”, the 22-year-old said.

"I did hit my head again. I was really quite worried those symptoms would linger again and how it would affect the year.

"I'm still having some annoying little soreness around my ribs from that crash. It's been annoying to manage, but I'm doing the best I can.”

Saya Sakakibara on regaining confidence

Sakakibara said the adjustment has been more mental than physical.

And who can blame her. Sakakibara’s older brother, Kai, suffered a shocking race injury in February 2020 that left him in a coma for two months with severe brain trauma.

Kai - who is the reason Saya got into BMX at the age of four - continues to improve with miraculous drive but his career has been put on hold.

"You can train so much but if your mental is not there - it's as much as a mental game as it is a physical game," Saya said.

"With a sport like BMX, I feel like if you have that hesitation, that's when things go wrong. I know what the risks involved are with hesitation.

"For me, my physical stuff has been good... It's just getting that confidence in myself and my abilities where I can shut out those doubts in my head."

Through the first two rounds of the new World Cup season, Sakakibara has managed to block out the noise, finishing third and fifth in Glasgow.

Her goal for the immediate future is the world championships in July in Nantes, France.

“I’m now based in the south of France with my boyfriend and we’re just training together,” she said in an interview with Siren.

“That’s the benchmark event, that’s where, obviously, I want to go for the world championship title. I really want to do well there. And that race also determines the funding and things like that for next year as well. A lot of things that go into that race.

“But for me, at the moment, I’m just trying to get my confidence back. I definitely had a big journey after the Olympics with months off the bike, months of no proper training.

“It’s just getting that confidence back in through the trust and just pushing myself a little bit more each time so once I do get back into racing season, I can trust myself and be able to focus on what needs to be done rather than what can happen and all those external factors.”

How to watch Saya Sakakibara in UCI BMX Racing World Cup 2022 rounds 3 and 4

The third and fourth stops on the 2022 World Cup tour take place on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June in Papendal, Netherlands.

Action will be broadcast live on Olympic Channel and available for streaming right here via Olympics.com worldwide. Full replays and highlights will also be available on our BMX racing hub.