Yahoo Finance Fencer Injures Ankle But Continues the Event, Helping Team Win Gold Before Leaving in a Wheelchair
Marta Martyanova left her Olympic event on Thursday with a gold medal — and a bandaged foot.
The 22-year-old fencer from Russia rolled her ankle not far into her team foil final at the Tokyo Summer Games but did not withdraw, according to the Associated Press.
Her team, who are competing for the Russian Olympic Committee, went on to win first over France, 45-34. (The U.S. fell to Italy in the bronze medal match, 23-45.)
"Emotionally it was very hard," Martyanova said of the event, the AP reported. "I didn't know what to do."
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
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"I had to just stand up and do everything," she said.
After her win — and after her ankle was bandaged and treated with an ice pack — she left the venue in a wheelchair.
Earlier this week American fencer Lee Kiefer, who competed in the foil team event in which the U.S. finished fourth, won the country's third-ever fencing gold.
Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images
After the team lost to Italy in the foil event, Kiefer said: "They fenced beautifully, they came out very strong. All of us feel heartbroken. We feel like we didn't put our best fencing forward in that last bout, but the whole Games we fought incredibly hard."
To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
