Tokyo (AFP)

Deeply affected by the postponement of the Olympics last year, Clarisse Agbégnénou had "fallen very low", but was able to rebuild and return to the top, taking a step back from the France team, to try to win Tuesday in Tokyo the Olympic gold which would crown its impressive record.

On June 10 in Budapest, when she proudly showed the camera her left hand and her nails decorated with a star representing each of her five world titles in -63 kg, the 28-year-old French judoka was moved.

She knew where she was coming from.

"It was very difficult, very, very hard. I would never have thought to be so low, in my life, in my career. I wanted almost everything to stop, I was there", she had assured a few minutes more late.

Because the world and European titles - five from each now - are not enough to fulfill the ambition of the Ile-de-France, left terribly frustrated and bitter from Rio in 2016, with a silver medal, of which she says that "it is not the right one ".

Since the Brazilian Games, Agbégnénou had been maturing his revenge, like a form of obsession.

And that is why the additional year of waiting imposed by the Covid before being able to set foot in Budokan, the legendary judo hall in central Tokyo, weighed so heavily on him.

- Yoga and jiu-jitsu -

“To be honest, it was hard from the start, as soon as we announced the postponement of the Games. It was very, very hard, because it's a lot of commitment on his part, a lot of sacrifices. this postponement, these uncertainties, it was very complicated for her, "explained Larbi Benboudaoud, director of high performance and coach of the French women's team.

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To support the reconstruction of the champion, Benboudaoud then agreed to adapt the daily life and the work programs, to make some deviations from the habits of Insep.

"I had to find myself, all alone. I needed to refocus on myself. It might have been hard to understand, but I also had to be listened to. I had to think of myself too" , explained the five-time world champion, who spent several months in Reunion, invested a lot in life coach training at HEC and practiced boxing, yoga and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"There are things that we would probably not have granted in normal times, but to her as to others. We may have let go of things," admitted Benboudaoud.

"She was the most ready for the Olympics and it was she who had the most + snuffed up. So we had to adapt."

- Black beast -

The technician also knew that Agbegnenou's appetite for victory was a guarantee against slackening and that the Olympic goal was not likely to take a back seat.

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"We loosened the noose and at the same time we knew that Clarisse, the job, she does. We do not need to remind her of the framework and the requirements of the high level," he explained.

The confirmation came on the carpet, with a new European title in November 2020 in Prague, then world gold N.5 in Budapest.

But the real horizon is now very close, Tuesday at the Budokan, to obtain the missing gold.

This may require overthrowing the Slovenian Tina Trstenjak, long her pet peeve, who beat her twice in the final, in Rio and at the 2015 Worlds, or the Japanese Miku Tashiro, who had pushed her to its limits. in the final of the 2019 Worlds, in Tokyo already.

But in Budapest, Agbégnénou no longer had any doubts.

"I want to have this Olympic medal and I will do anything to get it. There is still a way to go but I am ready."

© 2021 AFP