Saya Sakakibara of Australia wins Olympic gold in BMX racing at the Paris Games

MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France — Saya Sakakibara won the gold medal in the women's BMX race at the Paris Olympics, shortly after her partner Romain Mahieu took bronze to complete a French sweep of the men's race. Sakakibara beat American rider Alise Willoughby to the first corner and was never tested again, cruising through the jumps and bumps to the gold medal. Manon Veenstra of the Netherlands took silver, and Zoe Claessens of Switzerland took bronze. Willoughby, a three-time world champion, finished sixth. Bethany Shriever of Britain, the reigning Olympic champ, was never in the medal mix and finished eighth.

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