Basque judoka Leire Iglesias loses combat for the bronze

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Basque judoka Leire Iglesias. Photo: EFE

Basque judoka Leire Iglesias lost the combat for the bronze medal against Edith Bosch of the Netherlands in the women's 70-kg category on Wednesday.

Bosch overcame the disappointment of losing to Ueno in the semi-final, rolling Basque Country's Leire Iglesias off her back to win by ippon in the other bronze decider.

Japan's Masae Ueno became the third Japanese judoka to retain her Olympic title, beating Anaysi Hernandez of Cuba in the final to win gold. Like so many Japanese judokas before, Ueno's only interest in the final was to go in for the quick kill.

Attacking with aggression, the pint-sized 29-year-old kept low, not allowing Hernandez to get a decent grip to defend herself. About 40 seconds into the bout, Ueno picked her moment. Diving straight into Hernandez's legs, the Athens champion lifted the Cuban off the floor and dumped her unceremoniously on to the tatami for an ippon score and automatic victory.

Ronda Rousey of the United States beat Germany's Annett Boehm to take the second bronze, throwing her opponent early for a low uko score and then holding the slender lead until the clock ran down.

Judo awards two bronze medals in each weight class.