After losing the bronze medal, judoka Anna-Maria Wagner loses her composure and cries bitter tears. But there is still hope.
Anna-Maria Wagner was inconsolable and desperate, the judo world champion cried bitter tears. First the longed-for Olympic victory was gone, and minutes later the consolation prize of bronze was gone too. “My goal was gold,” said Germany’s flag bearer sobbing at the ZDF microphone, but in the end she ended up in “the worst possible place” of fifth place.
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“The pain is very deep, the fights will keep me busy,” admitted Wagner, whose elation as flag bearer at the opening ceremony had given way to huge disappointment.
Three years ago she won bronze in the individual and team competitions in Tokyo, but she wants to at least take the chance in the team competition on Saturday: “I will definitely be ready for the team from tomorrow evening. We have a chance, we are a strong team.”
Wagner: “Unfortunately, I fell asleep for a second”
Wagner wants to pull herself together again, but after that she says she will leave her judo suit in the closet for the time being. On Thursday she lost her fight for bronze against former Vice World Champion Ma Zhenzhao from China in the light heavyweight division (up to 78 kg) by Ippon in the Golden Score. “Unfortunately, I fell asleep for a second,” Wagner lamented.
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She missed the gold final and the chance to become the first German judo Olympic champion in 20 years due to her semi-final defeat against Inbar Lanir from Israel.
The German Judo Association (DJB) hoped in vain for the second medal within 24 hours. On Wednesday, Miriam Butkereit (Halle/Saale) won silver in the weight class up to 70 kg. This, said DJB competitive sports director Hartmut Paulat, “took the pressure off the team, including for Anna-Maria Wagner.”
Until the semifinals, Wagner had dominated her opponents
On her way to the semi-finals, Wagner defeated Marie Branser from Leipzig, who was competing for Guinea, and the Japanese Asian champion Rika Takayama in the Champs-de-Mars Arena. Wagner fought in a dominant manner and had her rivals under control.
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But Wagner’s tension before the semi-final was visible. She pushed herself with words, hit herself in the face with the palm of her hand and strode energetically onto the mat. There she had trouble against the dynamic Lanir, received two penalties early on and then conceded the ippon.
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Wagner approached the fight for bronze against Ma, 2022 World Championship runner-up, with a clear goal in mind. “This is my medal,” she said to herself. In the end, it wasn’t enough.
2024-08-01 18:34:01
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