Saya
Sakakibara
Australia
·
BMX
Date of birth | August 23, 1999 |
|---|---|
Birthplace | Japan |
Age | 26 |
Nationality | Australia |
Career start | 2005 |
Disciplines | BMX Race |
Having been raised in an ultra-competitive environment with her brother, Kai, whose also a pro-racer, Saya Sakakibara was perhaps destined to follow suit.
At the age of four Saya attended practice sessions and races that Kai was involved in and her love of the sport of BMX racing grew from there.
Since then Saya has amassed a seriously large haul of trophies in her 15 years of riding: four times World Champion, five times Australian National Champion and seven times NSW State Champion and counting.
She attributes much of her incredible success at such an early age to her family: "My drive and discipline came slowly from many years of being pushed to my limits both physically and mentally by my Dad, brother Kai and my coaches.
"From the time I was young, they were the ones who knew my capabilities and pushed me to try new challenges and to keep improving. Thanks to years of this, I’ve developed my own motivation and a sense of my own abilities in order to challenge myself and improve on my own."