Romanian wrestler Catalina Axente was injured on Saturday at the Paris Olympics in the round of 16 of the 76 kg category.
Axente was thrown on her back by American opponent Kennedy Alexis Blades, and landed hard on her neck.
She suffered a cervical trauma and was rushed to the hospital.
“She has a cervical trauma, but she moves her fingers, her legs … We are going to the hospital,” physician Dan Tanase said.
The doctors gave her first aid on the mattress and immobilized her neck with a collar. The Romanian athlete was conscious, but left the hall on a stretcher, to the applause of the audience.
Catalina Axente is 28 and a double bronze medalist at the European Championships (2020, 2023).
Coaches were hoping for an immediate recovery so that she could requalify for a bronze medal, but it seems that a period of recovery is the best thing for her health.
