Gabriella Willems, 27, has clinched her first international medal after winning bronze in the under 70kg judo category at the Paris Olympics.
Willems beat the Netherlands' Sanne van Dijke, ranked fifth in the world, for third place at the Arena Champ-de-Mars in Paris on Wednesday.
On her way to the podium, the Belgian judo practitioner defeated Maria Perez from Puerto Rico, and Elisavet Teltsidou from Greece, a win secured through her ground game technical prowess. However, in the quarter-final, Willems was defeated by Germany's Miriam Butkereit, who went on to win silver after losing in the final against Croatia's Barbara Matic, who received gold.
Following a two-hour break, Willems was back on the mat for the deciding 'Repechage' match against Parisian, Marie Eve Gahié, world number seven and a vice-world champion playing on home soil in front of over 8,000 spectators. The match ended abruptly 40 seconds when Willem put the French judoka in an armlock, silencing the home crowd of the Champ de Mars Arena.
"I managed to focus again because the idea of facing a French competitor here appeared challenging. I had suffered many defeats against her. I knew she would target my surgically repaired knee. The strategy was not to let her gain dominance and put her on the ground."
Ranked 21st in the world, Willems then clinched bronze in an unprecedented win over Netherlands' Sanne van Dijk, a bronze medalist in Tokyo and 2023 world champion.
Belgian judoka Gabriella Willems celebrates after winning bronze in the -70kg category of the women's judo competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, on Wednesday 31 July 2024. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
"That's judo and that's the Olympics. There have been numerous surprises here, and today I was the surprise," Willems stated before accepting her medal.
Originally from Liège, Willems, achieved this success following a difficult three-year period characterised by injuries and two knee ligament surgeries, which caused her to miss the Tokyo Games in 2021.
"Her resilience is astonishing," her coach Cédric Taymans said in a statement. "I have never experienced such emotions," admitted Gabriella.
The judoka has added a third medal to Belgium’s tally following Remco Evenepoel’s gold and Wout van Aert’s bronze in the time trial road cycling event. The win is also the 14th Belgian medal in judo in the history of the Olympic Games.
