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.

"In the end I was able to finish the day with a win which was great for my points to get through as well as my confidence."

In a double celebration for Sakakibara, she produced the win on her brother Kai's 25th birthday. Kai was attempting to qualify for the Tokyo Games when he crashed and suffered a serious brain injury in February, 2020.

"With all the pressures that come with the Olympics I really wanted to show my best performance to him, for his birthday and I think I was able to do that with a win at the end, so I am very happy," Sakakibara said.

It was also a special day for Reynolds who fought off the threat of retirement after Rio in 2016, to finish third, second and fourth in her heats on Thursday and has moved through to the semi-finals.

"It's awesome to be out here, it's been a hell of a journey and I wouldn't change it for the world," Reynolds said.

"I definitely hit rock bottom but I feel like I've found a whole new me and hopefully we can see that this weekend, race by race."

But it was heartbreak for Australia's sole men's competitor Anthony Dean who crashed in his opening race and was unable to claw back enough points to progress by finishing fifth and sixth in his remaining races. 

"The guy in second jumped and his back wheel hit my front wheel and I just lost balance, and before I knew it, I was on the ground, so unfortunately that's racing and one crash can ruin your day," Dean said. 

"It's still a great experience with a devastating end but you've got to move on." 

Reece Homfray