More sadness than joy: Butkereit wins German judo silver

More sadness than joy: Butkereit wins German judo silver


Referreport

Despite the greatest success of her career, Miriam Butkereit could hardly force a smile at first. “I have just lost gold and not won silver,” said the judoka after her defeat in the final at the Olympic Games in Paris. The 30-year-old was close to a major triumph in the Champ-de-Mars Arena, but then had to admit defeat to two-time world champion Barbara Matic from Croatia.

“These are just tears of sadness,” said Butkereit after losing the final fight in the weight class up to 70 kilograms. “I hope that will change again in the next few days.” She will probably celebrate a little, the athlete announced. Family, friends and training partners who hugged her after the fight had to tell her “that they are proud of me, so I can be a little happy.” It was only at the awards ceremony that the tears gave way to a beaming smile.

First judo medal in Paris

Butkereit had a brilliant day and brought the German Judo Federation its first medal at the games in Paris. It was almost enough to be the second gold medal for a female German judoka after Yvonne Snir-Bönisch’s triumph in Athens in 2004. Sports director Hartmut Paulat praised her “phenomenal ambition”. It is what has brought her to where she is now. But it also sometimes stands in her way.

Only a week ago she suffered a concussion in training, reported Butkereit. Perhaps she had overstepped her limits again. But on the day of the competition there was no sign of this. The athlete from Glinde, who now competes for SV Halle, defeated the Australian Aoife Coughlan and then the Belgian Gabriella Willems after a bye. In the semi-final she defeated the Austrian Michaela Polleres, who won silver at the Tokyo Games three years ago and is trained by the German ex-judoka Snir-Bönisch.

The final started very badly for the German, who was forced into a hold by Matic early on and only narrowly avoided a premature knockout. She then tried to turn the fight around. But the Croatian cleverly fended off all attacks.

With good memories to Paris

Butkereit had travelled to the Games with plenty of self-confidence. After all, she had already won two Grand Slams this year – the one in the Uzbek capital Tashkent and the one in Paris. It was “magical”, she said of the victory in February. So it was no wonder that Butkereit had now returned to the French metropolis with a good feeling – despite a knee injury she had suffered three months ago.

“Little bit” was often missing

Sports director Paulat was convinced of Butkereit’s qualities – he did not want to describe the silver coup as a surprise. “She is one of the world’s best athletes,” he told the German Press Agency. In recent years, she had often simply lacked “a little something” in the fight for World Cup or European Championship medals. This time, luck was on her side.

The medal should give the German team a boost after the rather gloomy days in Paris. It is a “super motivation”, said Paulat – also with a view to the mixed team event on Saturday, in which the German judoka want to repeat their bronze coup from Tokyo. The pressure on world champion Anna-Maria Wagner is also no longer quite as great, Paulat speculated. The flag bearer will take to the mat on Thursday.

Source: German