<figure id="attachment_446189" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446189" style="width: 667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ddb8ca3d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/10160c0728cdf2b8d90658e988aa843d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446189" class="wp-caption-text">Miki Iibata, who agreed to be interviewed on a racing day in mid-October.</figcaption></figure>
<p> She is a beautiful woman with long brown hair, riding a competitive BMX. She looks like a model, but her athletic muscles can be seen through her clothes.</p>
<p> BMX stands for &#8220;Bicycle Motocross&#8221; and is a type of bicycle racing. It became popular among low-teens on the West Coast of the United States and was often seen in American movies of the &#8217;70s and &#8217;80s. Many readers may remember the scene where the kids ride their little BMXs around and throw them out on the grass. There is a famous scene in the movie &#8220;E.T.&#8221; where E.T. rides through the air on a BMX in the front basket of his bicycle.</p>
<p> One such Japanese &#8220;pioneer&#8221; of BMX racing who is still active at the forefront of the sport is Miki Ibata, 40, whom we introduced at the beginning of this article.</p>
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<h2> I never miss wearing makeup.</h2>
<p> In mid-October, the day of BMX racing for the 42nd All-Japan Cycling Championships was held at Cycle Park Tsukuba in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture. Iibata, dressed in racing jersey pants and a salmon pink cut and sew, was interviewed by Friday Digital.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was a kid and there was a BMX course in a park near my house. My father got into it first and forced me, who was 10 years old at the time, to start halfway (laughs).</span><span class="strongInContent"> (Laughs.) Until then, I had been riding a regular bicycle, and of course I was a complete beginner at BMX. But one month after I started competing, I happened to win a race that I entered, and I found myself riding &#8230;&#8230; all the way to the present day.</span></p>
<p> BMX racing uses a vehicle with 20-inch tires and a high handlebar as opposed to a low saddle. Depending on the course, the riders glide down from a starting point about 5 meters high, clear a number of bumps and sharp curves, and compete over a distance of 300 to 400 meters in total length.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The appeal of BMX lies in the fact that it is a &#8220;human-powered&#8221; bicycle without an engine that can be ridden at such high speeds. I think it is a surprise to people who have never seen it before, and the rule that the first person to the finish line wins makes it easy to understand.</span></p>
<p> Iibata first represented Japan at the World Championships at the young age of 15. The following year, at the age of 16, he became the &#8220;oldest&#8221; rider in Japan, and moved to the United States, the home of BMX, in order to aim even higher. She spent her days training, racing, and accumulating achievements while being inspired by strong riders.</p>
<p> Her history as a BMX rider is the &#8220;history&#8221; of women&#8217;s BMX competition in Japan. She is the only one who has been sponsored by numerous companies in Japan, and she is the leader in creating an environment where women can ride professionally.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> In order to establish a BMX pro class category, you need at least five <wbr></wbr>riders, but there weren&#8217;t enough active riders like me to make it happen. So I asked the mothers of riders with BMX experience to compete, and we created the first women&#8217;s category when I was 21 years old.</span></p>
<p> Since then, she has won numerous competitions and led the sport. BMX racing became an official sport at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and she was selected as a designated athlete for the Beijing, London, and Rio Olympics three times in a row.</p>
<p> On the other hand, she reveals, &#8220;I was in agony for a long time.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It is a tough sport that is often referred to as the &#8220;martial arts of bicycling,&#8221; and injuries from contact and falls during races are common. So it is natural that female riders are leaving BMX, and it is a common issue worldwide. It&#8217;s a shame, but it&#8217;s a common issue worldwide.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Since I was a teenager, I have never missed wearing makeup in practice or in races, and I try to keep my hair long and curly to lift my spirits. I also let my hair grow long and curly to boost my spirits. I try to keep my hair long and curly to boost my spirits, and it&#8217;s cool to be strong in spite of that.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> In the U.S., there are many athletes who are free like that, but in Japan, I feel that there are too many restrictions &#8230;&#8230; that come with competing in a sport.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Racing results are available at ......"></div>
<h2>The timing for retirement was &#8220;full of it.&#8221;</h2>
<p> The race venue was packed with contestants of both sexes, ranging from cute children as young as five years old in their clothing and protectors to muscular young men and women, and even veterans. BMX has become an official event of the Olympics, and the number of competitors is steadily increasing every year.</p>
<p> It has been 30 years since he fell in love with BMX&#8211;he plans to hold a &#8220;30th Anniversary Race&#8221; in his hometown of Osaka in December&#8211;but how long will he keep riding?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I think there have been many times in my life when I&#8217;ve decided to retire, but now that I&#8217;ve come this far, I can&#8217;t make up my mind anymore (laughs). (Laughs.) Right now, I haven&#8217;t clearly decided, &#8216;Until I&#8217;m 10 years old! I don&#8217;t have a definite age limit. There is no age limit for the competition itself, and there are riders over 60 years old at the World Championships. I think I will ride as long as I can.</span></p>
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<p> While working as an athlete, Iibata also belongs to a major entertainment production company and has worked as a model, posting photos on social networking sites of her training and daily life overseas, as well as swimsuit photos that show off her outstanding figure.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I have been going abroad for about two weeks before the World Championships and staying in Australia or California for two to three months to train in a good environment. I like tanning and would visit nearby beaches in my spare time!</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Not so much modeling, but I had the opportunity to shoot a calendar in Germany in &#8217;13, and one of my favorite shots was a semi-nude one showing my back. It was 10 degrees Celsius, and I have fond memories of taking the picture while shivering in the cold with my upper body naked (laughs).</span><span class="strongInContent"> &#8220;After 10 years, let&#8217;s take another photo of the same cut!&#8221; I thought, and we actually took the shot last year!　I appreciate that I get to experience so much more than just BMX.&#8221;</span></p>
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<p> Iibata, who narrowly missed out on the win that day, <span class="strongInContent">said, &#8220;It&#8217;s frustrating!</span> 　I <span class="strongInContent">was supposed to be on the podium wearing the champion jersey</span>.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was supposed to be on the podium with the champion&#8217;s jersey,&#8221; said Ibata. &#8220;I had won the All-Japan Masters (a class for members over 30 years old) last year and the year before, so second place today was tantamount to a loss. My goal is to win the Masters at the World Championships, which I have yet to win.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> She is focused on popularizing BMX and preventing women riders from leaving the sport, and she is also straight forward in realizing her own ambitions.</p>
<figure id="attachment_446224" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446224" style="width: 772px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cc914344"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/89a1f19a6e6dbc07b6425aeb3b233486-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446224" class="wp-caption-text"> Riding the actual racing course many times to check the tires and road surface conditions.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_446362" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446362" style="width: 1500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="12c95ef2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/6205887ecb70944cf98f75a5d4e1c22f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446362" class="wp-caption-text"> Riding through the course with BMX at the start of the race.</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Unexpected &amp; cute private appearance"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_446225" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446225" style="width: 667px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f789693e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/dde1ff58c50a106810b53cdcb45d8ad8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446225" class="wp-caption-text">The strong arms peeking out from the tank top are the result of training. During competitions, he wears a protector over it.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_446226" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446226" style="width: 651px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="dccdf897"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/8846a21e23dad523bfc42b9ccc5398cd.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446226" class="wp-caption-text"> Training with weights / Courtesy of the artist</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_446227" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446227" style="width: 1672px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="1ea85dfa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/eef96c40c64d9f65a9f28f07d3376de2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446227" class="wp-caption-text"> A favorite shot from a calendar taken in Germany in &#8221;13 (from her Instagram (@mikiiibata77))</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_446228" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446228" style="width: 1774px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="79f091bf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/035b8d1074bef0b0ec6c35397fce2c75.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446228" class="wp-caption-text"> At the beach during a break from training (@mikiiibata77)</figcaption></figure>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Too cool racing figure"></div>
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<figure id="attachment_446229" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446229" style="width: 331px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7f8c5e6c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/232f2dd3820d4c581850dbb3f46b5d70.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446229" class="wp-caption-text">He was straddling his beloved BMX, waiting for the race to start.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_446230" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446230" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="543401f0"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/da6e3ed82164c2622a221eb41958e180.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446230" class="wp-caption-text"> Iibata, who was willing to cooperate with us for the photo shoot.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_446231" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446231" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="42342d5e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/82c9da69f1bdb84d405af4e035d58d7f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446231" class="wp-caption-text"> (Photo #1) Ibata accelerates by moving his BMX up and down as he clears bumps.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_446232" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-446232" style="width: 1000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0b32a18a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/de0183b4453283efb3ddb3b8fa69c438.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-446232" class="wp-caption-text"> Photo (2) during practice run: He sometimes raises the front wheel to prepare for the next bump.</figcaption></figure>
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 Takero Shigumura

 Miki Iibata, a "pioneer" of BMX racing in Japan, celebrated the 30th anniversary of her career with a commemorative interview, in which she spoke candidly about her "mission" that she holds in her heart, from her first encounter with BMX to her retirement. from his first encounter with BMX to his retirement.

Confession of Miki Iibata, a beautiful rider with 30 years of BMX experience, from &#8220;only a few competitors &#8230;&#8230;&#8221; to an official Olympic event.

Confession of Miki Iibata, a beautiful rider with 30 years of BMX experience, from “only a few competitors ……” to an official Olympic event.

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