When BMX racer Saya Sakakibara goes for gold tomorrow she’ll be wearing her brother, Kai’s, number 77 as he watches from the sidelines hanging off every twist and jump.

The remarkable bond of Kirrawee High School alumni Saya, 24, and Kai, 27, has captured worldwide attention for the resilience of both athletes in overcoming adversity.

“If you give up, you will never know how good you could be. Saya and I will never give up,” Kai told Channel Nine.

Saya, the reigning BMX World Cup champion, said she relishes the pressure of competition.

“When I conquer my fear, it’s an amazing feeling. And I think that’s what drives me. I hate the feeling of backing down from a challenge that I know I am capable of,” she told ‘Sports Hounds’.

Saya, who competes in the semi-finals in Paris at 5.30am tomorrow, crashed at that stage of the 2021 Tokyo Games, putting her Olympic dreams on ice for another three years.

In 2020, brother Kai was seriously injured in a BMX accident, ending his Australian representative career. He now trains for paralympic rowing events and is an inspirational public speaker, including at his alma mater, Kirrawee High.

Saya was by his side every day for the two months he was in hospital in a medically-induced coma. “She cheered when I opened my eyes for the first time,” Kai told Channel Nine.

“Now the Paris Olympics . . . she says it’s for both of us.”

Saya competes with Kai’s number 77. “It’s like I’m there with her,” Kai said.

Kirrawee High principal Christine Campbell said the school community was closely following Saya’s progress – and that of another alumni, Matthew Byrnes, who is in the men’s water polo team.

“Kirrawee High School takes immense pride in the remarkable achievements of our former student athletes who have been selected for the Australian Olympic team over the last nine Olympic Games, dating back to Barcelona in 1992,” she said.

The school is proud of the resilience of the Sakakibara siblings.

"Saya was a fabulous allrounder, excellent in the classroom and on the BMX track. We will all be tuning in to watch her race tomorrow with bated breath! Go for Gold, Saya!" Ms Campbell said.

Saya was a dedicated and high-achieving student at Kirrawee High from 2012 to 2017.

Kai was school captain in 2014 and an ambassador for the Department of Education’s ‘Maths Trains Brains’ campaign where he explained how he used maths to calculate velocity, timing, distance and position when he was representing Australia in BMX – and now to measure his recovery.

As for Saya, she will be flying through the air tomorrow, looking for the ‘peace’ that BMX champions talk about experiencing.

“I like the pressure, the attention,” she told ‘Women’s Agenda’. “I like the cameras on me . . . it puts a really big smile on my face.”