Allison Langdon burst into tears when she heard the heartbreaking story of an Australian Olympian.
The 45-year-old TV reporter has flown to Paris to cover the Olympics for Channel Nine. On Wednesday, he presented an inspiring segment on BMX star Saya Sakakibara.
When Ally started the live broadcast on July 26, before the opening ceremony, she burst into tears when she heard the heartbreaking story of Saya and her family.
A profile of her career was written by Saya’s brother and fellow BMX star Kai, who was in a coma for two months after a horrific crash at a World Cup event in Bathurst in 2020.
Kai was hospitalised for eight weeks and then spent months recovering at the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit in western Sydney.
The accident had a lasting impact on Kai’s speech and movement. Ally was overcome with emotion when she heard him tell the fragment about his sister.
In the profile, Kai shared how he felt “pride, love and excitement” watching his sister Saya compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“She does it for both of us. She wears my number – 77. It’s like I’m there with her… Saya and I never give up,” he added in the emotional segment.
Allison Langdon (pictured left) burst into tears when she heard the heartbreaking story of Australian Olympian Saya Sakakibara
Ally burst into tears and admitted she was touched by the “beautiful story,” adding: “I didn’t know Kai wrote that story about his sister. So beautiful.”
Saya, who also crashed and fell unconscious during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, was also moved by her brother’s tribute.
“It brings tears to my eyes,” she said, trying to hold back her own tears in the studio.
“When I see it together and hear him say those words, I get emotional already. BMX means a lot and it means a lot to Kai and me.”
Saya is returning to the Olympics after a horrific accident left her motionless on the track at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
She was devastated when she was knocked out during the thrilling semi-final after Alise Willoughby touched her wheel.
“I feel like I let everyone down, especially my brother,” she said at the time of the devastating crash.
A profile of her career was narrated by Saya’s brother and fellow BMX star Kai, who was in a coma for two months after a crash at a World Cup event in Bathurst in 2020 (Saya is pictured)
Ally burst into tears and was emotional by the ‘beautiful story’, while Saya (pictured with Kai in the hospital) was also moved by her brother’s tribute
“I can’t believe it’s over. It just really sucks. To be honest, I don’t really know what happened, but I know I was riding really well.
‘My stats were going really well. I came down with Alise [Willoughby] who caught up with me, we came down together. That’s all I remember.’
Fortunately, Saya escaped with just a few scrapes and bruises after the shocking fall and will be competing again at the Olympics this year.
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place on Friday, but the event officially begins two days earlier on Wednesday with the group stages of football and rugby sevens.
Meanwhile, the BMX competition will kick off on July 30 with the Freestyle classification round.