Capping a year that was more of a rollercoaster than any BMX track, Saya Sakakibara has won her first elite Australian title.

The 22-year-old dominated Monday’s racing at Nerang on the Gold Coast to take out the women’s BMX crown, as Izaac Kennedy successfully defended his elite title.

She made her Olympic debut in Tokyo, but had to take an extended break from competition after a semi-final crash left Sakakibara with lingering concussion symptoms.

The crash was particularly devastating because of Sakakibara’s determination to race in honour of her older brother Kai.

https://twitter.com/7olympics/status/1420947587172012037

He was also a contender to make the Tokyo BMX team, but he continues to recover from severe head injuries suffered in an early 2020 race crash.

Sakakibara also had her wisdom teeth out ahead of the nationals.

She expressed relief about winning at the nationals, saying it had been an “amazing” year.

Sakakibara said she had felt disconnected from her bike during her post-Olympics recovery.

“But as soon as I got onto this track it was a case of familiarity I think, and I was able to feel like myself again,” she said.

“It’s definitely a confidence booster coming into next year knowing I’m on the right track and all I have to do is continue on and get back into the racing.”

Listen to Saya Sakakibara after her comanding nationals win!#sbscyclinghttps://t.co/G3rOceHhaB

— SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) December 19, 2021

Sakakibara’s aim now is to win her first world title next year in France.

Also at the nationals, Kennedy did not drop a lap all weekend on the way to his second straight men’s elite title.

The 21-year-old world No.7 said he felt pressure to go back-to-back.

“It was a pretty stressful day; I was just trying to focus on each lap and not try to get caught up in the hype,” he said.

Kyle Hill was runner-up to Kennedy for the second year in a row and Brad Game took third, while Desree Barnes (second) and Erin Lockwood took the minor placings in the women’s final.

-AAP