An in depth and raw interview with one of Australia's best BMX athletes, Kai Sakakibara. Life before and after his major crash at the Bathurst World Cup in 2020.
Saturday 15 August | 189 days since the crash | 136 days in rehabilitation. It has been some time since the last update and many people have been asking how Kai is doing. We’re super pleased to report that Kai continues to make strong progress in all aspects of his rehabilitation. It’s Saturday 15 August today and we have just passed two key milestones. The first of these was 29 July which is Kai’s 24th birthday, this is highly significant because there was a time when we were not sure he would see his next birthday at all. The second important date was 8 August — exactly six months since Kai had his crash.
Day 64 – Easter Sunday. It’s been a tough 9 weeks so far with huge uncertainty and massive challenges for Kai, he has been fighting all the way and is making good progress. We’re eternally grateful for the support Kai has been receiving from friends and people who know him either personally or via social media, it’s a great boost for us in these difficult times.
As a family, we have been focussed on Kai but we have realised that there are many people who feel as we do and are genuinely concerned. Updates have been hard because of the uncertainty around Kai’s condition so they have been vague in places. However, we all know Kai has always been open and honest in his social media posts even during the difficult times and we will try to do the same with the
Day 42. It is now exactly seven weeks since Kai crashed, and we are relieved to say that he is making progress — tiny steps in the right direction. A key step for Kai is he now off the respirator and can breathe by himself unassisted. As he is not dependent on the breathing machinery, it has been possible to move him out of the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and into a high care ward. During his time in ICU, Kai had dedicated nurses monitoring him 24/7 to ensure he had the best possible care to get through the very critical stage. It’s said that most people stay in ICU for less than a week, the fact that Kai was there for so long is an indication of the severity of his injury.
We were absolutely amazed by the care and professionalism provided by the Canberra ICU. There is no
Today is day 25.Kai is still in intensive care under 24-hour monitoring and support. A few weeks ago, doctors were not confident he would survive, but he has been fighting hard, and doctors are now more optimistic he will make it. Kai has not woken up yet, so doctors don’t have any real idea of the extent of the injury. However, they do know he had a severe knock to the head, and they tell us rehabilitation will take many many months. They also said that Kai is young and extremely fit, which will really help.
At the moment Kai is hooked up to a number of crazy machines that are beeping, flashing, showing
Statement from the Sakakibara family:
Firstly we would like to thank everyone for the kind messages, prayers and thoughts regarding Kai. It’s amazing to know he has touched so many people.
This is a very difficult time for all of us, but we felt it is important to share what we know at this moment. We need you all to be with us and with Kai throughout the next weeks and months.
As many of you are aware, Kai was involved in a serious racing accident on Saturday at the UCI BMX World Cup event in Bathurst. Medics and a doctor were on site and were able to manage the situation
Name: Kai Sakakibara
Racing number: 77
Hometown: Helensburgh, NSW Australia
Have things changed for you since 1 September, the day the Olympic qualifying period has started?
Kai Sakakibara: Not at all. I’m always training and preparing for events to the best of my ability, so it’s been business as usual.
Are you looking for races where you can score more points?
Kai Sakakibara: Not necessarily, but as the Olympics draw nearer I may start to prioritise my events schedule, i.e. possibly skip smaller events and focus on the major competitions.
Has peaking after 1 September been something you aimed for?
Kai Sakakibara: I believe that I’m still developing as a rider, and learning at every event that I compete in. Of course I want to race well now and need to race well to qualify the country, but I want to bring my peak in July 2020. Everything until then will be building towards that.
How badly do you want to go to Tokyo for the Olympic Games in 2020?
Kai Sakakibara: Being half Japanese and having represented Japan while living in Tokyo as a kid, the
Name: Kai Sakakibara
Sponsors: DK Bikes, Oakley, Box, Shimano, Onyx, Shoei, Michram Industries, HT, Fist, Parkside Sports Physio, Peabody, AO Contracting
Mechanic: Me!
How long have you been riding the frame that you are currently on?
Kai Sakakibara: 3 months
Do you experiment much with geometry/size of your frame, stem, bars?
Those who were at the 2017 UCI World Cup in Zolder will remember the race where things went nuts on the first jump. With people losing control it sent 6 of them to the ground, one of them was Kai Sakakibara. At that moment you know why you're wearing your protection gear. And you never know when a crash will happen to you. Most often it's somebody else causing the crash. What has Kai learnt from it and what protection gear does the Australian use?
Name: Kai Sakakibara
Country: Australia
Sponsors: DK Bikes, Oakley, Box, Shimano, Onyx, Shoei, Michram Industries, Planett, HT, Fist, Parkside Sports Physio, Peabody, AO Contracting.
Helmet: Shoei VFX - Evo
Goggles: Oakley Airbrake
Gloves: Fist Handwear
Jersey: Planett
Racing pants: Planett
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