Helen Louise Maroulis, of the United State, celebrates after defeating Canada's Hannah Fay Taylor during their women's freestyle 57kg bronze medal wrestling match, at Champ-de-Mars Arena, in Paris, on Aug. 9,Eugene Hoshiko/The Associated Press
Hannah Taylor’s bid for an Olympic wrestling bronze medal ended abruptly Friday in Paris.
The 26-year-old from Summerside, Alta., was pinned just 24 seconds into the women’s 57-kilogram match by Helen Maroulis of the United States.
“It was kind of like an idol-to-rival situation, so it’s pretty cool that I got the experience to go against her,” Taylor said. “I wish I could have given her more of a go.
“I mean, she caught me right at the start, so sucks for me.”
Taylor was a high school student when she watched Maroulis win gold in Rio in 2016 in the 53-kilogram class and deny Japan’s Saori Yoshida a fourth straight gold medal.
“I sat there and cried as I watched it,” Taylor said. “I thought it was incredible. To watch her journey since then is really cool, but I wanted to beat her. It would have been great to score some points.”
Maroulis, who was a bronze medalist in the 57-kg class in Tokyo, turned a fireman’s carry into a pin to win 4-0 on Friday.
“Great game plan on her part and she caught me flat-footed,” said Taylor.
Taylor had a tough draw in her Olympic debut in Paris. She lost her opening bout 6-1 to world No. 1 Sakurai Tsugumi of Japan.
The Japanese defeating Maroulis in the semi-final opened the repechage door for Taylor, who walked through it with a 13-0 win over Luisa Elizabeth Valverde Melendres of Ecuador.
Maroulis, 32, was ranked fifth in the world to Taylor’s 18th. Sakurai defeated Anastasia Nichita of Moldova 6-0 for the gold medal.
China’s Hong Kexin beat Brazil’s Giullia Penalber 10-0 in the other bronze-medal bout that the repechage creates in Olympic wrestling.
Taylor was a three-time Canadian university champion from 2018 to 2020 for the Brock Badgers. She won a silver medal at the 2023 Pan American Games.
“I’ve said since I was a child that I wanted to go to the Olympics, and so being here today is super-special for me and my entire family. However, I wish I had a better performance,” said the Canadian.
“I love the sport of wrestling, and although there have been ups and downs in the sport, competing today brings that love back, because it’s so fun to be out there and I see the crowd and I have a good time and see my friends and family in the stands.
“After losing two matches, they didn’t care. They were like, fist pumping and smiling and hugging each other.”
In addition to her 14 friends and family at Champs-de-Mars Arena near the Eiffel Tower, Taylor said “I also have hundreds and hundreds of Prince Edward Islanders messaging me and watching.”
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