French gold medal hopeful Magda Wiet-Henin was in a state of shock after suffering a crushing defeat at the start of the women's taekwondo welterweight tournament on Friday.
American Kristina Teachout beat Wiet-Henin 11-8 9-0 in the round of 16 at the Grand Palais, ending the contest in the second round with the 2023 world champion looking subdued and drained.
France had high hopes for Wiet-Henin as she had defeated most of the fighters who are in the Olympic competition, but the possibility that she could even win a bronze medal through the repechage ended with Teachout's later loss in the quarterfinals.
"It wasn't the Magda who won the world championship. It was a different Magda," said Rosendo Alonso, the Spanish coach of France's taekwondo team.
"We knew that the American is an athlete who attacks a lot," he said. "Magda is an athlete who gives 1,000% every time. So maybe the way she managed her emotions wasn't right as the match went on."
Wiet-Henin, 28, was still being consoled by her mother at the time of Teachout's defeat, the team said.
France's last hope for a second Olympic medal in taekwondo is 22-year-old Althea Laurin, who will compete in the women's heavyweight class on Saturday.
A member of the French police force, she won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
France's Cyrian Ravet won bronze in the men's flyweight on Wednesday after Italy's Olympic champion Vito Dell Aquila withdrew because of a leg injury.