Olympic Games in Paris: “The shittiest place” instead of judo gold: Wagner disappointed

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 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,” said Wagner, sobbing. “I think fifth place is the worst place you can have.”

The two-time world champion lost her fight for bronze in the weight class up to 78 kilograms against China’s Ma Zhenzhao in the golden score. Her chance of gold had already been lost after her 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.” But after there had been no points 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, traveled to Paris with great ambitions. Three years after winning bronze in Tokyo in both the individual and team events, she once again set her sights on winning medals. She has another chance in France in the mixed team event on Saturday. “I’ll be ready from tomorrow, but it would be nice if we went home with a medal anyway,” said Wagner. She announced that she would not wear a judo suit after the team competition.

So far one German judo medal

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.

With the German flag across the Seine

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 early.

She cried a lot and lay in bed for days, Wagner reported in several interviews. 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 Abu Dhabi in May. Now she missed the opportunity to crown her extraordinary journey of the past few years with another medal in Paris.