It was an exceedingly tough day for the two-time Olympic medallist, Sarah Leonie CYSIQUE (FRA), with each contest seemingly becoming more and more emotional. Her second round with Irina ZUEVA (IJF) was so exhausting, competing for over 10 minutes that Cysique was just about making it off the tatami.
Cysique’s misfortune continued against a fierce and very physical opponent, Marica PERISIC (SRB) which again went in to golden score, and again finished with shidos. It was clearly a frustration for the French athlete, however despite being unable to claim a score, she was still tactically stronger than her opponent.
It was in her third consecutive golden score contest against TAMAOKI Momo (JPN) that she was simply unable to continue her fighting streak, and herself ceded three shidos which sent her in to the bronze medal contest against Uzbekistan’s Shukurjon AMINOVA. This resulted in her fourth and last golden score of the day but Cysique dug deep, determined to finish on a high note, not only with a medal, but in style. After almost six minutes of contest time, Cysique committed to a soto makikomi to take her first senior world medal.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen