Which Australian rider won Olympic gold in women's BMX racing at Paris 2024?

Which Australian rider won Olympic gold in women’s BMX racing at Paris 2024? Saya Sakakibara.

Saya Sakakibara won the women’s BMX racing gold medal for Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She prevailed in the final at the BMX Stadium within the Vélodrome National de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, completing the race in 34.231 seconds.

The victory was a landmark for Australian BMX: Sakakibara became Australia’s first Olympic champion in BMX racing. She had already competed at Tokyo 2020, where she reached the final but did not finish after a crash, making her Paris triumph a notable comeback in her Olympic career.

Sakakibara began riding BMX as a child after watching her older brother Kai compete. The other names in the options are also associated with Australian BMX, especially Caroline Buchanan and Lauren Reynolds, but neither won the Paris 2024 women’s Olympic title. Judy Baauw is a Dutch BMX rider, not the Australian champion.