World Judo Championships: Clarisse Agbégnénou and the French team in search of gold medal
Seven months after giving birth to her second child, Clarisse Agbégnénou leads the French team at the World Judo Championships starting Sunday, October 4, in Baku, where she will aim to win a record seventh world title.
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In Azerbaijan, the three-time Olympic medalist (-63 kg) will be joined by reigning world champion Joan-Benjamin Gaba, as well as Romane Dicko and Audrey Tcheuméo, who have also tasted world gold before.
Even without their leader Teddy Riner, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury, the French team has high ambitions. “We are aiming for four gold medals,” said Federation President Stéphane Nomis at a press conference last month. “I am convinced that all the athletes I am taking can win a medal, and I believe we can achieve our four golds.”
By winning four gold medals, the French team would match their record set at the 2011 World Championships in Paris. To achieve this, they are counting on Clarisse Agbégnénou, who is making her return to the international stage seven months after the birth of her second child.
In her comeback, the 33-year-old judoka returned to the mats at the Grand Slam in Lausanne at the end of August, where she secured an encouraging bronze medal. “It’s incredible to see what the body can accomplish and how one can progress,” she stated. “There are many hormonal changes related to pregnancy, and it’s fascinating to see all that the body is capable of doing, to explore how far I can go and how I can advance.”
“Very satisfied” with her return to competition, she noted a lack of explosiveness and has since focused her training on strength and hand speed, she explained.
Also readJudo: Clarisse Agbégnénou settles for silver medal at European Championships
The quest for Olympic quotas
In Baku, “the goal is to become world champion,” she affirmed, hoping to secure a seventh global crown after 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023. With a seventh victory, she would equal the record of Japanese judoka Ryoko Tani (-48 kg).
Alongside her, Joan-Benjamin Gaba, who was uncertain after a bicycle accident in June, will defend his title in the -73 kg category. “I had fears at the time, I thought my season was over, but ultimately everything is fine, I managed well despite my misfortune,” he explained.
Injured in the shoulder, he could not prepare in competition before the world event, but he took advantage of his recovery to explore other aspects of his training. “In the end, I didn’t train less, but I changed my training method,” he recounted. “I was able to approach exercises I wasn’t used to doing, I worked a lot on cardio, physical preparation, and I analyzed technique with videos, which allowed me to take a breather and pause.”
For all judokas, this world competition will also be crucial for accumulating points in the race for Olympic quotas for the Los Angeles Games in less than two years. “This will provide us with very important elements to assess the level of this great French team, but also the work that remains to be done,” said Frédérique Jossinet, the general manager of the French teams.
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