Australian star Saya Sakakibara has won Olympic gold after a dominant victory in the final capped off her sweep of the BMX racing program.
The 24-year-old, who suffered a heartbreaking crash in Tokyo and battled serious concussion troubles before returning for Paris, won every single race on the way to the medal round.
And she made good on her promise to herself and her brother Kai, who suffered his own serious injuries in a crash and is now eyeing off the Paralympics.
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Sakakibara immediately broke down in tears and French partner Romaine Mahieu, just minutes after he won bronze in the men’s final, rushed to celebrate with her.
“I honestly can’t believe it. It was all a blur. This whole day was a blur,” she said.
“As I rocked up today it was six o’clock, I knew that it was going to end at 10 and I’m going to make these four hours the most proudest I’ve ever been.
Sakakibara had COVID at the start of the week but still bounced back to win every time she got on the bike.
“I just had to f***ing go. I didn’t want to leave her without just making myself proud and make these setbacks worthwhile,” she said.
Mahieu was lost for words.
“I knew she could do it, she’s been working so hard. I’m just so proud of her,” he said.
“She’s been through everything. Almost stopped racing and now she’s just showing how good she is. We need some time to let it sink in and what just happened.”
Sakakibara spotted her brother in the crowd and was desperate to meet up with her family.
“It’s crazy because three years ago she could’ve done it but she didn’t (when she crashed). And now… it’s crazy. It really is crazy,” Kai said.
Earlier, Australian Izaac Kennedy suffered a dramatic fall at the first corner of the men’s final.
Knwing he needed a blistering start to give himself any chance of winning a medal, the 23-year-old tried to dip down wide and swiftly on the first of the U-bends to get into contention, only to clip the side of the track and go tumbling at high speed.
Slumped in misery on the track, the good news was that he was able to struggle to his feet, remount and slowly make his way back to the finish.
Kennedy, a World Cup champion, broke his wrist at a race in May which needed surgery and he also suffered serious injuries in 2023.
The Olympic debutant revealed after his quarter-final races how adrenaline was proving the pain-killer for his wrist in the demanding speed tests over the 400m course.
But after scraping into the final as eighth and final qualifier, his race ended in calamity as the overjoyed French crowd celebrated a home 1-2-3 led by champion Joris Daudet.
– with AAP