In the final, Ukrainian Jirina Kolijadenko was waiting. During the light show in Zagreb, Croatia, the duelists took to the mat and prepared for one of the most important moments of their careers. The Ukrainian opened best and took the lead 2-0 after getting Bullen to the ground. The Norwegian hope fought to fight back, but ran into more problems. Towards the end of the first period it was 5-0 to Kolijadenko, but then Bullen struck. She lifted her opponent spectacularly and slammed her to the ground with a throw over her shoulders. The judges spent a long time discussing how many points the 26-year-old should get for the manoeuvre, and after a longer discussion they gave Bullen two points. Shortly afterwards, at the start of the second period, she slammed again and Kolijadenko ended up on the mat again. Four new points for Bullen, who were suddenly in the lead. Later in the period, Bullen received a blow to the head and had to be examined by the doctors. After this, Kolijadenko reasserted her grip on the match, which she eventually won 10-6. – So much happens with the wrestlers’ heads. No one can understand the pain we feel the next day, said the expert commentator during news’s broadcast. Medal anchor Bullen qualified for the final after a 7-6 victory over Bulgarian Zhivkova Dudova on Thursday. Experienced Dudova has four European Championship golds and a World Championship gold on her track record from earlier in her career, but was unable to stand up to the Norwegian hopes. Bullen is no lightweight either, and has its share of trophies in the prize cupboard. The 26-year-old won World Cup silver in the 59-kilogram class last year, and is a two-time European champion in the 57- and 58-kilogram classes from earlier. On Friday evening, the medal hunt continued. This time with a new silver. Scary injury Earlier on the day of the finals, Jowita experienced horror in the 57-kilogram class. At the very start of her final, the match was abruptly stopped. She looked down at her own hand and saw that her ring finger was bent in the wrong direction, apparently broken. – Switches are made of steel, said the commentator on news’s broadcast. Watch the video of the incident here: Wrzesien kept his composure and barely made a move as the doctors came running to tape up the finger. She continued the match, but was unable to win against Elena Heike Brugger. The match ended 3-1 in the German’s favour. Wrzesien has previously won EC silver and WC bronze in the 59-kilogram class, and will have to wait a little longer for a long-awaited gold. Photo: news
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Bullen dramatically lost the EC final – took silver – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
