The 22-year-old capped her eight months in Dunedin with three medals at last week’s national championships at Lake Ruataniwha. She was part of the Otago University Rowing Club’s gold medal-winning eight crew and also claimed silver in the single and double sculls. Doing that many races in one regatta was new to Sakakibara and she had to focus more on her recovery to remain fresh throughout the week.
"In Japan we normally do one race, but here I was in three boats. That was tough, but a good experience," Sakakibara said.
"The double, especially, was very impressive, because the practice wasn’t good, but the last race was pretty good."
She is set to head back to Tokyo next week, having enjoyed her time in Dunedin. It is the latest experience in a rowing career which has already resulted in her going to various high-level regattas, notably the 2012 London Olympics.
At those Olympics she finished 23rd in the single sculls. It was tough competing against the world’s best as an 18-year-old, who only began rowing in 2009. Initially, it led her to question whether it was something she wanted to pursue. However, she took a lot away from the experience and soon found the motivation to chase the world’s best.
"I found the difference between me and the top athletes was everything was lower for me. I didn’t have so much muscle.
"I’m tall for Japanese, which is very good, but I realised I needed more training mentally and physically, which was good. If I didn’t go to the Olympic Games I wouldn’t have realised that."
She had learnt much from being in New Zealand, too, and that had helped fuel her desire to make another Olympic appearance. The main difference was the focus on having fun while trying to win in New Zealand, as opposed to purely training to win in Japan. That was something she would take back to Tokyo, which will play host to the 2020 Olympic Games.
"I’m excited for [the Tokyo Olympics]. Before I came here I was not sure about whether I wanted to go to the Olympic Games again, but I can say now I want to go to the Olympics again."
Sakakibara had come to the University of Otago both to learn English and to take up a rowing opportunity. The cold winter weather was a shock initially, and the new language also proved challenging at first. However, she adjusted to both and said liked the nature, the people and the rowing culture in Dunedin.
While poor conditions had meant the big early-season regattas were abandoned, she won bronze in the single sculls at the South Island Championships and was also in the winning eight crew.
Home is calling though and she is looking forward to seeing her family and munching on some Japanese food next week.
