Junko Hirose won judo bronze at the 2016 Rio Paralympics on Friday, earning Japan's fourth overall medal, as the country's first gold remains elusive and the slow start continues.
Hirose, 25, competing in the 57-kg division of women’s judo for visually impaired athletes, earned an ippon win over three-time Paralympic medalist Maria Merenciano Herrero from Spain. The medal is Hirose’s first at the Paralympics and a career-best result for the Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, resident.
"I am really happy that I could fight my fight," Hirose said, also explaining she believed she fought instinctively and that her superior strength and power on the ground paid off in the bronze final.