Anna-Maria Wagner clutched her gold medal with her right hand, tears rolling down the face of the new judo world champion during the national anthem. “I’m so happy to have won five fights. I can’t even realize it yet,” said Wagner: “I knew that if I stayed focused, I’d get through this thing today.”
The relief was palpable for the Ravensburg woman. The Dead Pants classic “On Days Like These,” which the organizers recorded in Abu Dhabi after the award ceremony, was a perfect fit: The 28-year-old not only won her second World Cup title after 2021 on Wednesday, but also won the top-class German championship Duel with the two-time European champion Alina Böhm in the weight class up to 78 kg also the Olympic ticket.
Women’s national coach Claudiu Pusa was full of praise for Wagner: “She was focused, confident and showed no weakness. She was ready to win.”
Wagner, Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo three years ago, went into the World Championships in the Persian Gulf third in the Olympic world rankings, while Böhm was fifth. Unlike the World Cup, which concludes the qualification phase, only one starter per nation is allowed at the Summer Games in Paris (July 26th to August 11th).
2024-05-22 18:04:22
#AnnaMaria #Wagner #wins #World #Cup #gold #Paris
