Battling veteran Karina Bryant ends her judo career with a bronze
VETERAN judo fighter Karina Bryant found top gear as she brought down the curtain on a glittering Olympic career by battling to a hard-fought bronze medal.
Contesting her fourth and final Games, she made light of her Ukrainian opponent’s four-stone advantage to seal a place on the podium for the first time.
Karina, 33, who lives in Aldershot, Hampshire, produced a dazzling victory in the women’s over-78kg category – all the more remarkable given that earlier this year she resorted to asking strangers for £5,000 to buy a car so she could get to training.
She delighted a delirious capacity crowd at the ExCel arena as she fought back from the brink of defeat to beat fancied Iryna Kindzerska.
Karina, a five-times silver medallist in the world championships and four-times European champion, said: “Deep down in my heart, I really wanted to go out there and do myself justice.
“I have had an amazing career but this was the one medal I did not have.”
I have had an amazing career but this was the one medal I did not have
Karina, who weighs just over 16 stone, missed six months of training last year with a serious neck injury. She failed to contest gold only when she was defeated by Japan’s talented Mika Sugimoto.
Karina added: “It is not the right colour but it is gold to me because I could not have done any more today.
“I fought a fantastic semi-final but the Japanese girl is a great fighter.”
After 12 years without an Olympic judo medal, Team GB now have two, following Gemma Gibbons’ super silver performance in the under-78kg division on Thursday.
