Clarisse Agbégnénou continues her momentum. The French judoka, reigning Olympic champion in the − 63 kg category and determined to retain her crown at the Paris Olympic Games (from July 26 to August 11), once again climbed to the highest step of the podium, Saturday March 2.
She won the Grand Slam in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), one month after winning the one in Paris. A good omen for the 31-year-old fighter, who had to settle for a disappointing 7e place at the European Championships in Montpellier, in November 2023.
In the semi-finals, then in the final, she dismissed the Japanese Nami Nabekura and Momo Tatsukawa thanks to two arm locks. She also showed that she held up over time, her quarter, her half and the fight for the title having been played out in overtime, i.e. beyond four minutes of regulation time. In total, she spent 20 minutes and 17 seconds on the tatamis in five confrontations.
At the Accor Arena in Bercy, Clarisse Agbégnénou estimated that she had already “put things straight”. And if her rivals for Olympic gold were warned, the fact remains that with this new success she will go back to rankingwith the aim of arriving among the eight seeds at the Games – she was 12e before the meeting in Tashkent. This status would allow him to offer himself a lighter field during the draw for the Olympic tournament.
The champion should still compete in one competition before the Parisian high mass: the Worlds in Abu Dhabi (May 19 to 24), where she will put her title back on the line.
Winning comeback for Amandine Buchard
The day before, the Tashkent tatamis had also succeeded well in another French judoka aiming for Olympic gold. After missing the Paris tournament, Amandine Buchard (− 52 kg) returned to the competition in the best possible way by securing victory – without going into overtime even once.
After an intense year 2023, including a bronze medal at the Worlds, then gold at the European Championships, the 28-year-old fighter had “need to take a break from the world of judo” to avoid getting “destroy entirely” six months before the Games, she explained to Agence France-Presse.
A logical gold medal for the third in the world, notably in the absence of the reigning Olympic champion, the Kosovar Distria Krasniqi, victorious at the Grand Slam in Paris a month ago.