Anna-Maria Wagner lay on the judo mat with her eyes closed and bit her hand in deep disappointment. Instead of fulfilling her big dream of winning the Olympic gold medal, the German flag bearer was left with nothing but great frustration and tears after her dramatic defeat in the battle for bronze.
“My goal was gold, but at the end of the day I just wanted to go home with a medal,” Wagner said, sobbing. “I think fifth place is the shittiest place you can have.”
The two-time world champion lost her fight for bronze in the weight class up to 78 kilograms against the Chinese Ma Zhenzhao in the golden score.
Previously, the chance of winning gold had already been lost due to the semi-final defeat against world number three and former world champion Inbar Lanir from Israel.
With a wildly determined face, Wagner stood in the tunnel before the small final and swore: “I’ll get the medal, I’ll see this thing through, from start to finish.”
Wagner still in action in mixed
But after there had been no score in the first four minutes, Wagner was hit hard by the Chinese after twelve seconds in the golden score and landed on her back.
“Our sport is beautiful. It can be for you for a second, it can be against you for a second. But I slept for a second,” she said contritely.
Wagner, who carried the German flag at the opening ceremony together with basketball star Dennis Schröder, travelled to Paris with great ambitions.
Three years after winning bronze in both the individual and team events in Tokyo, she has her sights set firmly on medals again. She still has another chance in France in the mixed team event on Saturday.
So far one German judo medal
“I will be ready from tomorrow, it would be nice if we still went home with a medal,” said Wagner. After the team competition, she announced that she did not want to wear a judo suit again.
The German Judo Federation is still on the winning streak at the Games in France. Miriam Butkereit won silver in the 70-kilogram class on Wednesday.
In the Champ-de-Mars Arena, Wagner first beat Marie Branser from Leipzig, who was competing for Guinea, and then Rika Takayama from Japan. After losing to Lanir in the semi-final, she was unable to fight back in the bronze medal match.
The opening ceremony last Friday was the first big highlight of the games for Wagner. When she found out that she would be carrying the German flag, she burst into tears of joy. It was a “great experience,” she said after the big show on the Seine. She really enjoyed the atmosphere.
Impressive handling of mental problems
Wagner is considered a role model beyond her sport. In addition to her successes, her open approach to her mental problems also earned her a lot of respect. After the 2021 Tokyo Games, she had fallen into a psychological hole, both physically and mentally exhausted. Corona made the situation even more difficult. The exceptional athlete considered ending her career prematurely.
Wagner reported in several interviews that she cried a lot and lay in bed for days. She made a conscious decision to make her post-Olympic depression public, she explained. For her, that was a sign of strength.
Family, friends and a sports psychologist helped her out of the valley, and Wagner fought her way back to the top in the judo world.
By winning her second world title, Wagner, who competes nationally in her weight class with the strong Alina Böhm, secured her Olympic ticket late in May in Abu Dhabi.
Now she missed the opportunity to crown her extraordinary journey of the past few years with another medal in Paris.
Source: www.sport.de
