Australian BMX's ride into Olympic semi-finals after qualifying thriller

Australian BMX racers Saya Sakakibara and Lauren Reynolds have progressed to the Olympic semi-finals in thrilling circumstances at Ariake Urban Sports Park on Thursday.

Reynolds showed consistency throughout her three heats to move one step closer to a medal, while Sakakibara produced a stunning turnaround to win her final heat after running off the track and finishing last in her first race of the day.

"I really thought my Olympic dream was going to end today but I had to switch back on and re-set and not dwell on the errors, and to go from that to win at the end was huge and just shows I can do this," Sakakibara said.

"When I finished that first one, I saw the number six on the board and I was like 'holy, moly' I could see my Olympic dream slipping away and I thought 'it's not over yet', I knew I'd done the work and had to execute what I know.

"It's just been such a big day with these three runs, coming into today the pressure was high but I tried to reinforce to myself that I know what I'm doing.

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