Shrine explained, “Bronze is ok because this event is not the objective. It’s possible to have difficulty on the way to achieving great things; it’s an exercise. We have to push again after loss. Losing brings emotion, a lot of it, from feeling sad to angry and many other things, and we need to practise managing these emotions and being ready to start against after loss. We proved today that it’s possible to finish with a medal no matter the adventures of the day."
"It’s not even about always losing to the strongest athletes either. Things happen, sometimes it’s just like that. We make no excuses and instead just find recovery. So, I am happy because I found the switch and pushed myself towards the bronze medal.”
Sarah added, “I think the same, she is right. We might cry but we have to feel it and teach ourselves not to cry, not to worry, controlling ourselves in the right way to try to win again just a matter of a few contests later. It’s frustrating to lose so my emotions become very intense. I have to manage it and keep coming forward to win the medal. The day is not finished until all the contests are done."
"This has been part of our training towards July and our Olympic Games. I think it was good for us to prepare this way; it is a better education to win this bronze medal in this way, ahead of the Games. Learning from our mistakes is the most important thing."
"We have to not stay too long without competition. We need references in the right moment for the Olympic Games, we need to keep our feeling for competition accurate and sharp.”
Shirine stated, in closing, “We want gold at the Olympic Games and we know it’s possible but all things are not predictable. We must prepare for everything and that is why we are here. This was a good day for us, a day of managing expectations, learning to further improve our emotional control and keeping hold of the right feeling on the mat. We did those things.”