Having spent some of their childhood living in Japan, the Helensburgh siblings had been working towards competing at the Games together since Tokyo was named the host city in 2013.

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The dream came to a crushing end last February, Kai seriously injured in a crash at a World Cup event.

The incident left him in an induced coma, doctors initially fearing his injuries were life threatening.

Having completed the final year of the Olympic journey on her own, Saya said it was bittersweet not having her brother by her side when the team was announced.

"It was surreal being told it was official," Sakakibara said. "I've been preparing to compete at the Olympic Games for about a year so to have my name on the boarding pass was surreal.

"It's such an honour, I'm excited this is happening, but at the same time I also had my brother Kai in mind. I was thinking 'imagine this feeling right now if Kai was next to me getting his ticket and we were both going to the Olympics.'

"It would have been absolutely amazing. To not have that, it felt a little piece was missing and didn't feel completely right. I know this ticket is a representation of the hard work of both of us so at least one of us is able to go."

Prior to Kai's incident, the siblings were near inseparable, travelling the world competing on the BMX World Cup circuit. This past year, however, has seen the pair travel separate paths.

For Saya, that has meant training for the postponed Games on her own. For Kai, it's been an arduous rehab process that started with learning how to walk again.

The 24-year-old has impressed doctors and family with his progress throughout the past 12 months, riding a bicycle for the first time since the accident earlier this year.

Saya and Kai's mother Yuki said he's shown the same dedication towards his rehab that he displayed during his racing career.

"I had mixed feelings when Saya made the team," Yuki said. "I'm very happy but also there's a bit of disappointment as well for Kai.

"I'm happy to see him making progress and putting 100% effort into his rehab. I'm proud of him being the same Kai as before the accident and making small improvements bit by bit."

Saya has been inspired by her brother's improvement, his commitment driving her to continue pursuing her Tokyo dream.

Now that she's on the team, however, the 21-year-old knows it's up to her to deliver in the Olympic pressure-cooker.

"It was definitely a motivation up until this point of training to keep going through all the hard times, all the challenges of not having a training partner anymore. Not having someone to push me and share this journey with me was a big adjustment for me but the thought of just making it to the Olympics for both of us was a very big driving factor.

"In terms of getting a good result, that comes from within. I'm an athlete, I'm competitive, I always want to win. I'm training to make sure I can do the best I can at the Olympic Games, whatever the outcome may be. I know I've taken that first step forward by getting myself on the team, now the journey is just beginning."