Judo at the Olympics

Medal hopeful Polleres wins with difficulty

Michaela Polleres with her bronze medal.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Michaela Polleres won the bronze medal in the 70 kg category at the Olympic Games in Paris on Wednesday. In the decisive fight, she won with Ippon against the Spaniard Ai Tsunoda Roustant. It is her second Olympic gold medal under the sign of the five rings; she came second in Tokyo in 2021 and it was also Austria's first medal in Paris. "This means so much to me, it makes me incredibly proud!" she said jubilantly. 

"I have so many thoughts in my head, it's only now slowly coming together. It's really cool that it's also the first medal for Austria," said Polleres. She was really annoyed after losing the semi-final, it was close. "I pulled myself together again and focused. Yvonne said I could still win a medal," she said, recalling the speech from her coach Yvonne Snir-Bönisch.

Michaela Polleres celebrates in the bronze medal match.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Disappointed after the semi-final
"It was a tough moment after the semi-final to get her back on track. She was clearly disappointed not to be in the final. She did a great job, focused, put everything back on the mat and deserved to win bronze," said Snir-Bönisch. She had been told that these are the Olympic Games, which take place every four years. "Pull yourself together and give it your all again," was the message. And the athlete really flipped the switch during the short break.

"Just happy"
 The medal was very important because she wanted to prove herself again after the games in Japan three years ago, said Polleres. "That I could pull it together again and fight well under all the pressure. I'm just happy that it ended well. In the end, the Tokyo medal put the pressure on once again," said the 27-year-old, whose parents and sister were in the hall.

Michaela Polleres with her bronze medal.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Coach proud
Coach Snir-Bönisch saw the medal as confirmation of her work in the Olympic cycle. "It was also very emotional for me. We set our goals very high. We made it clear beforehand that we were coming here to win a medal. Ideally gold. It didn't turn out to be gold, but we're still delighted with bronze, it shows what a world-class athlete she is."

First fight was a "nail-biter"
Polleres had previously won against Great Britain's Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown in the Champ de Mars arena in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris with a waza-ari in the golden score. "Sometimes it takes a bit of luck, the first fight was definitely a nail-biter," Snir-Bönisch told APA. Polleres narrowly escaped a third penalty for inactivity, which would have meant an early end. The coach said it had given her "50 new gray hairs".

Michaela Polleres (right) was beaten by German Miriam Butkereit in the semi-finals.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

In the final round, however, Polleres suffered the fate she had narrowly escaped in the opening round. In the semi-final against the German Miriam Butkereit (silver), she was beaten by three penalties (ippon) in the golden score. "Michi was definitely too passive in the first fight and in the semi-final. That's Michi, we won't be able to get that out of her. The important thing is that she steps on the gas in the decisive moments. That was the case for bronze," said the coach.

Michaela Polleres won against Ai Tsunoda Roustant in the bronze medal match.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Bronze fight victory by Ippon
In the decisive bronze medal match against Spain's Ai Tsunoda Roustant, Polleres lifted her opponent and threw her in a high arc onto the tatami mat. Ippon! Michi immediately raised her arms to the sky. Redemption for her and redemption for Austria at these games! Bravo Michaela!