Brigitte Wagner (born November 22, 1983, in

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

) is a retired amateur German freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's flyweight category. Considering one of the world's top female freestyle wrestlers in her decade, Wagner has claimed a gold and a silver medal in the 48-kg division at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, and seized an opportunity to compete for Germany at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. Throughout her sporting career, Wagner trained full-time as a member of the wrestling squad for Siegfried Sports Club in

Hallbergmoos Hallbergmoos is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Freising (district), Freising in Bavaria in Germany. The Isar River flows west of the town. The town is directly south-west of Munich Airport Economy Augsburg Airways, a ...

, under her coach and four-time Olympian Jürgen Scheibe. Wagner made sporting headlines, as an 18-year-old teen, at the

2001 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2001 World Wrestling Championships. Freestyle competition were held in Sofia, Bulgaria and Greco-Roman competition were held in Patras, Greece. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle ...

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, where she took home the bronze medal in the women's 46-kg division. Wagner's early success in wrestling blossomed her career, as she dominated both the 2002 World and 2003 European Championships with two unprecedented gold medals produced in her hardware. When women's wrestling made its debut at the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Wagner seized her opportunity to compete in the inaugural 48 kg class. Earlier in the process, she outclassed Russia's Liliya Kaskarakova to snatch both the trophy and Olympic ticket from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Tunis, Tunisia Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. She was powerfully pinned by Japan's

Chiharu Icho is a Japanese sport wrestling, wrestler who competed in the 48 kg Wrestling weight classes, weight class at the Wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Women's freestyle 48 kg, 2004 and Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's fr ...

with only two seconds left in the second period during her opening match, but managed to score a 4–3 sudden-death victory over Canada's

Lyndsay Belisle Lyndsay Belisle (born October 1, 1977, in Hazelton, British Columbia) is a retired amateur Canadian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's flyweight category. Considering one of the world's top female freestyle wrestlers in her decade, B ...

in the prelim pool. Despite missing a spot for the semifinals, Wagner wrestled her way to pin Mongolia's

Tsogtbazaryn Enkhjargal Tsogtbazaryn Enkhjargal (; born April 6, 1981, in Erdenebüren sum, Khovd aimag) is an amateur Mongolian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's flyweight category. Between 2001 and 2011, Enkhjargal had won a total of six medals (two go ...

in a consolation round, before losing out to Russia's Lorisa Oorzhak with a 1–3 decision for a fifth-place finish.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Brigitte 1983 births Living people German female sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Germany Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Freising Martial artists from Upper Bavaria World Wrestling Championships medalists European Wrestling Championships medalists 21st-century German sportswomen