Last winter, judoka Nicolina Pernheim Goodrich became a mother, but thanks to a wildcard, the Swede got the opportunity to participate in her fifth Paralympics in her career.
Now – when she for the first time gets to compete against others with similar visual impairments – the 33-year-old from Gothenburg took her first medal in the Paralympics.
In front of Queen Silvia, Crown Princess Victoria, and Princess Estelle, Pernheim Goodrich secured the bronze via victory over Turkish Merve Uslu in the 70-kilogram class, J1.
Already after just over a minute, the bronze match was decided after the Swede won on an ippon.
Earlier in the day, Pernheim Goodrich suffered a loss in the semifinal against Chinese Liu Li, who before giving birth was ranked as number two in the world.
It was tough, very tough. She was good. I was close but she was better, said the Swede to SVT.
I felt that I had a chance but it wasn't enough.
In the quarterfinal, the Swede only needed 1.34 minutes to win against Turuunaa Lkhaijav, Mongolia, on ippon.
The medal is Sweden's third in this year's Paralympics. Previously, Anna Benson has taken silver in shooting and Anna Beck has taken a bronze in the time trial in cycling.
