Romanian Olympic wrestler Catalina Axente has been carried out of Champ-de-Mars Arena on a stretcher after a scary incident during her fight with American Kennedy Blades.
Blades progressed through to the final in Paris, but not in the manner she would have hoped, having eliminated Axente from the competition with a crunching suplex move.
Axente landed awkwardly and harshly on her neck, having been flipped Blades’s shoulder and onto the ground.
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The American was awarded five points for the sickening, albeit perfectly executed, move.
The contest was stopped with the score at 11-0.
Medical staff rushed out to Axente, who was in obvious pain and discomfort following the hit.
Blades showed genuine concern for her opponent as she laid sprawled out on the ground with doctors surrounding her.
There were serious fears for a potential spinal injury, but the Romanian Athletic Committee has since cleared her of anything significant.
“It seems that there is no spinal fracture, thank goodness because it seemed very serious,” the RAC said in a statement.
Blades then had to take on Milaimys Marin in the quarter-final and took a tough 4-3 win to progress to the semis, where she beat Kyrgyzstan’s Aiperi Medet Kyzy.
