In Conversation: Saya Sakakibara on Fear, Olympic Gold and Finding What Comes Next

Olympic BMX champion Saya Sakakibara joins Marlee Silva after giving her a firsthand lesson on the track. Saya opens up about the perfectionism that affected her home World Championships, the complicated emotions surrounding her silver medal, and the question she faced after winning Olympic gold: what now? She also reveals how fear once made racing unbearable, why admitting she wanted to win Paris felt almost impossible, and how changing the way she spoke to herself transformed both her performance and her life. Plus, Saya discusses the road to LA 2028, the possibility of competing at Brisbane 2032 and her brother Kai’s emerging Paralympic dream. 00:00 Welcome to Marlee and Me 01:30 Marlee takes on the BMX track 02:30 Sitting down with Saya Sakakibara 04:05 Perfectionism and the pressure to win 06:03 Learning to stop chasing perfection 07:55 The World Championship race that was cancelled 10:43 How the international BMX circuit works 12:53 Could Saya compete at Brisbane 2032? 13:45 Life after winning Olympic gold 15:37 How Saya has changed since Tokyo 18:59 The transformation behind the gold medal 21:25 Confidence without winning 23:24 The hypnotist who helped Saya believe 25:37 Beginning the road to LA 2028 28:00 Why Saya considered retiring 29:10 Kai Sakakibara’s Paralympic dream 30:21 Becoming a role model for BMX 33:26 Giving others confidence 35:40 Strength, body image and inspiring girls 36:37 Final reflections 37:08 Marlee’s closing message See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.