Olympics: Judoka Gabriella Willems wins surprise bronze medal after battling injuries

Judoka Gabriella Willems won a bronze medal in the women's under-70kg category on Wednesday. It was Willems' first appearance at the Olympics after a year plagued by injury.

Willems beat the Dutch Sanne van Dijke, the world number five, in the bronze medal match. Earlier in the day, she beat Puerto Rican Maria Perez and Elisavet Teltsidou, the world number two. In the quarter-finals, the 27-year-old from Liège lost to Germany's Miriam Butkereit but bounced back in her first round of the repechage, giving her a place in the bronze medal contest.

Due to a shoulder and knee surgery, Willems had little time to gather the necessary points to qualify for the Games, but she secured a place in part thanks to fifth place at the World Championships. She missed out on the Tokyo Olympics due to a knee injury.

“Three years of injustice, frustration, acceptance and moving on are now behind us. Just when I had no more expectations, I came back,” she said on Instagram before the Games. “Luck is underrated. This is for all unlucky people,” she said.

This is Belgium's third medal at the Paris Games, after gold and bronze for cyclists Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert in Saturday's men's road cycling time trial.

^{Gabriella Willems celebrates after winning bronze in the women's under-70kg category, 31 July 2024 © PHOTO IGOT KRALJ/PIXSELL ​}

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