Tokyo (AFP)

Like her "big sister" Clarisse Agbegnenou the day before, the young Marie-Eve Gahié (-70 kg) was adorned with gold, a first for her, at the World Judo Championships, Thursday in Tokyo, a year of JO-2020 in the Japanese capital. Margaux Pinot and Axel Clerget collected bronze.

So the medal count of the team of France now climbs to four, including two gold, the day after the fourth historic coronation of Agbegnenou (-63 kg). This allows the Blues to return to second place in the ranking of nations behind the inevitable Japan, two days from the end of the individual events.

At the age of 22, Gahié continues her steady and steady progression at the highest level: European bronze medalist in 2017, then world silver medalist in 2018. She is already on the top step after spreading her progress on the ground. throughout the day.

"Clarisse handed me over, it's a model for me, even though we're very different in her determination, in the way she fights, and in life, she's like a big sister," she says. she at the microphone of the chain the team.

- Gahie meets Pinot -

His opponent in the final, the Portuguese Barbara Timo, resisted him only 48 seconds. In total, she dispatched four of her five fights by ippon in less than 1 min 40 sec.

"Last year, I was crying, I thought about it again, today I'm laughing, I wanted to laugh, I wanted to smile," says Gahié, "it was not a revenge, but I had to do it, because that I thought I could do it. "

"It's a step on the road to Tokyo-2020, it was necessary to mark the spirits, I hope to return in a year and do the same," projects the world N.2 category.

In the race for the only Olympic sesame at stake, which promises to be highly contested, her crowning is also a firm response to Margaux Pinot, crowned European champion two months ago, when she herself had failed at the foot. of the podium, beaten successively in the semifinals, then in fight for a third place.

On the carpets of Nippon Budokan, the famous octagonal room nestled in the heart of Tokyo, which will host the Olympic judo events next summer, this time Pinot has bent the doors of the final (against Timo), before to recover to obtain bronze (ippon against Bernholm). "We will fight to the end," warns Gahie.

- Clerget confirms -

By winning its first world medal, at age 25, Pinot confirms however its beautiful adaptation to its new category, which rose from -63 kg to -70 kg last year. "It's an accomplishment, it's a lot for me," she says.

Gahie, she becomes the 19th French judoka of the sacred history champion of the world.

As in 2018, 32-year-old Clerget embodies the first upturn for the tricolor men's judo, deprived of his comprehensive insurance Teddy Riner, fully focused on the next Olympic deadline.

First Blue of the week to join the quarterfinals - where he only gave in to the future world champion, the Dutchman Noel Van't End by waza-ari - he finally gave bronze again, as a year ago, getting out of the repêchages (against Mehdiyev), then overcoming the Swede Marcus Nyman by ippon.

"He confirms his rank, he confirms that he has progressed a lot and that he now has the potential to be in the best in the world, it gives ideas" in the perspective of the Olympics, says the director of the teams of France Stéphane Traineau.

"I do judo for emotions: you lose (in shifts), it's super hard, you get up and you go get a medal, it's happiness!" Smiles Clerget, scorer early in the day of the champion outgoing world, the Spaniard Nikoloz Sherazadishvili. "Live emotions like that, what's good!"

© 2019 AFP