Linda Morais loses first match in Paris, ending her Olympic journey

Linda Morais lost her first wrestling match 8-2 in the round of 16 Paris on Monday to Nigeria's Blessing Oborududu.

Morais, a 31-year-old from Tecumseh, Ont., scored the first two points before her opponent came back to score eight and take the match.

After the loss, Morais' fate rested on Oborududu's performance later in the day. The Nigerian later lost her semifinal match, ending Morais' Olympic run.

Morais had faced off against Oborududu — who is currently the second-best female wrestler in the world — before at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Then, Oborududu beat Morais 5-1 to take gold at the games.

Tecumseh, Ont. wrestler qualifies for 1st Olympics — says it could be her ‘last hurrah’

7 months ago

Duration 1:08

Tecumseh’s Linda Morais says she’s ready to grind leading up to her first Olympics in Paris, France this summer. She recently qualified for the Olympics after capturing a bronze medal in Turkey by beating a Romanian grappler in the women’s 68 kilograms weight class.

"I know she's a very tough opponent," says Morais, adding that this match in Paris was an improvement from her performance against Oborududu two years ago.

Despite the loss, Morais says simply being at the Olympics is an incredible experience after she tried and failed to qualify for the 2016 and 2020 games.

"Finally putting my feet on that mat today, it's just such a feeling of pride [and] so much joy, being able to represent my country," she told CBC after the match.