British outlet praises Laura Fazliu, compares her victory to iconic Muhammad Ali photo

Laura Fazliu won bronze today at the Paris Olympics after defeating Croatia’s Katarina Kristo with a “golden score.”

Although the victory was initially awarded to Croatia’s Kristo, and the two competitors stepped onto the tatami to congratulate each other, everything changed within seconds.

After the referee watched the replay of Kristo bringing Fazliu down, he noticed that the latter had made a mistake—she had grabbed Fazliu below the belt, which is prohibited in judo.

This shifted the joy from Kristo to Fazliu, who thus won her first Olympic medal, and Kosovo’s first bronze in Olympic competitions.

The photo taken after Kristo thought she had won the medal has been compared by the major British outlet “The Telegraph” to that of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, when he defeated Cleveland Williams.

“Similar to an iconic photo. It is not the brilliant and famous shot of Muhammad Ali after he knocked Cleveland Williams to the ground, but this is still a good photo. Kosovo’s Laura Fazliu with Croatia’s Katarina Kristo on the tatami,” “The Telegraph” wrote.

This refers to the iconic photo taken by photographer Neil Leifer for “Sports Illustrated” on May 25, 1965, which you can see below.

Furthermore, this outlet calls Kosovo a “judo powerhouse.”

“Laura Fazliu has won the bronze medal for Kosovo in the women’s 63 kg category. This is Kosovo’s fifth medal in Olympic history, and all of them have come in judo competitions,” the British outlet added.

Kosovo has a total of five Olympic medals—three gold, one silver and one bronze.