- Became the first ever Australian BMX gold medalist
- Dedicated victory to her brother who suffered a terrible trauma in sports
- Letting her emotions run wild with various swear words – which Karl loved
Australian BMX gold medallist Saya Sakakibara became an overnight Australian icon on Saturday morning with her tearful, f-bomb-filled celebration in Paris – and Channel 9 star Karl Stefanovic went completely wild during a live broadcast.
Three years after she was carried off on a stretcher in a devastating crash at the Tokyo Olympics, the 24-year-old Gold Coast rider made an emotional comeback on Saturday morning at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines circuit.
With her family looking on, including her brother Kai who suffered a life-changing brain injury during a World Cup race in Bathurst in 2020, Sakakibara delivered the performance of her career.
She became the first Australian BMX racer to win Olympic gold.
“After every setback I had since I got into it, I thought, I’m going to try again,” Sakakibara said after the race.
“I just had that in mind. I wanted it, I wanted it. I knew it was a split second and I just had to go for it… and I just went for it!” she said.
An emotional Sakakibara dedicated the victory to her brother Kai who suffered a brain trauma in the sport in 2020
During her celebrations, Sakakibara dropped several f-bombs to celebrate the historic victory
It was a hugely emotional award for the newly crowned gold medallist and a moment that Channel 9 star Brooke Boney later mentioned in an interview.
“I think we should let you go, but I wanted to let you know that we don’t mind the occasional foul word,” Boney said.
Sakakibara seized his chance, leaned into the microphone and shouted, “Let’s f***ing go!”
“That’s the trifecta, is that the third?” asked co-host Sarah Abo.
Sakakibara was not headed in the final and led from start to finish in a dominant display
Karl Stefanovic burst out laughing at Sakakibara’s swearing and said she had passed
Stefanovic could not utter a word and laughed violently. He completely agreed with Sakakibara’s curse.
“She just did a triple down, not the double-double that happens in the pool and then a triple down,” he laughed.
‘That needs to be on a t-shirt, let’s f***ing go. Let’s forgive her.
“You know how much I love to swear, but she’s got a license. She’s got all the licenses in the world.”
Earlier this week, Sakakibara was diagnosed with COVID-19, calling into question her ability to compete, let alone win.
“I had COVID since the beginning of this week and I was like, ‘I can’t believe this.
‘But I just wanted to make sure it would be a golden Olympic moment.
“Either way, it was going to end in tears, and I wanted to make sure they were tears of joy.”