Team GB star Lucy Renshall broke down in tears and was left struggling to speak after her shock 2024 Olympics defeat in the judo -63kg category.

Renshall, who competed at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, would have fancied her chances of going for a medal in Paris as the four-time British champion.

But the British judoka, 28, fell to a surprising 1-0 defeat in the round of 16 against Lubjana Piovesana, and the emotions of her exit from the Olympics became all too much to bear.

As she began her interview following the match, Renshall’s eyes began to well up and she soon became overwhelmed with emotion. She bowed her head into her hands and wiped away tears before giving her reaction to the defeat in Paris.

“Judo’s such a cruel sport and it’s probably been the best training I’ve ever done so I felt like I had more to give,” Renshall told BBC Sport.

Renshall then paused and shook her head, lowering her head into her hands again as she struggled to find the words to describe her feelings.

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The St Helens-born athlete then composed herself to answer another question about how there was three minutes of golden score time, which is what happens when there is no winner in regulation time.

“It wasn’t that exhausting. I felt good. I’ve been training for a fight like that,” Renshall added. “We’ve fought [her and Piovesana] – that was our eighth time so we know each other really well and I had an idea it would go like that but I felt good afterwards.

“I think that’s what happens when you fight someone so regularly and you know someone so well, it’s quite a rubbish fight because you know each other so well. She was the better player on the day.”

Renshall struggled to find the positives from her narrow defeat, even though she improved on her round of 32 loss in Tokyo three years ago and admitted she had been targeting a medal for her efforts.

When asked if she felt proud of her efforts, she began to break down in tears again before saying: “Not really. I came here for a medal.”

The BBC reporter then consoled her, telling she would feel differently when she has reflected, and Renshall replied: “We’ll see.”

Team GB have never won an Olympic judo gold but have collected eight silver and 12 bronze since 1972, including Chelsie Giles’ bronze at Tokyo 2020 – the judo team’s most recent Olympic medal.