Canada’s Hannah Taylor drops bronze-medal wrestling bout at Olympics

Canada’s Hannah Taylor fell one win short of a surprising bronze medal at the Olympics.

The Summerside, P.E.I. wrestler lost on a fall 24 seconds into her bronze-medal match against American Helen Maroulis on Friday in the women’s 57-kilogram division.

Taylor beat Luisa Elizabeth Valverde Melendres of Ecuador 13-0 in a repechage on to qualify for a bronze-medal bout.

But Maroulis was at another level. She won bronze in this event three years ago in Tokyo and took Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro at 53-kg in 2016.

Taylor lost to three-time reigning world champion Tsugumi Sakurai of Japan in the quarterfinals. Taylor earned a repechage spot when Sakurai advanced to the final.

Taylor, 26, won silver at last year’s Pan American Games, but never has reached the quarterfinals at a world championships.

Taylor, making her Olympic debut, won three U Sports championships with Brock University from 2018-20.