"I feel a lot of emotions because I knew I could do it, but knowing it and doing it is another thing," she said after receiving her medal.

"I had a very complicated start to the day, I had a hard time getting into the competition but it gave me a boost. I said to myself + I have no choice, I have to be more aggressive + and for the final I really took it up a notch. I was the usual Romane."

Céline Dion in the ears during the warm-up - "it's the base!" -, lucky belt around the waist, Dicko was expeditious in the +78 kg final against the Brazilian Beatriz Sousa, putting her opponent ippon in just over a minute.

"She had a monstrous final, she was in fact untouchable," reacted the boss of the French women's team, Christophe Massina.

"It's a machine", bid his coach in Blue Séverine Vandenhende.

French judoka Romane Dicko in the women's final over 78 kilos against Brazilian Beatriz Souza at the World Judo Championships in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on October 12, 2022. Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV AFP

A little earlier, the other Frenchwoman involved in the category, Julia Tolofua had won the bronze medal by winning on penalties against the Israeli Raz Hershko.

On the way to the final, Dicko, also three-time European champion, lost by ippon to Chinese Su Xin for her entry into the second round, before signing two waza-ari against Dutch Marit Kamps in the quarter. of final.

She then beat her compatriot Julia Tolofua in the semi-finals.

"A big salad well done"

"Obviously, it's complicated because with Julia we love each other a lot but I'm very happy that there are two of us on the podium of the World Championships", smiled Dicko.

At the end of the last day of individual competitions, and before the team event on Thursday, France therefore has four medals including a title.

The Blues have lived through difficult Championships so far, with several poor performances from the women's team, expected much higher.

French judoka Romane Dicko (left), gold medal in the women's category over 78 kilos, and her compatriot Julia Tolofua (right), bronze medal in the same category, during the world judo championships on 12 October 2022 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV AFP

The start of the competition had seen the premature eliminations of Shirine Boukli, world No.1 in -48 kg, and Sarah-Leonie Cysique, Olympic vice-champion in Tokyo in -57 kg.

On Monday, Margaux Pinot and Marie-Eve Gahié had fallen before the quarters.

Then Tuesday in -78 kg, it was Madeleine Malonga, also in silver in Tokyo last year, who fell as soon as she entered the running.

"Obviously it reaches a little because when we have the girlfriends at the self-service in the evening, we think that everyone will come back medalist and that's what we want for our girlfriends. But we have to go over it", a she declared.

Two phone calls later, -one to her cousin, the triple-jumper Teddy Tamgho, and another to Teddy Riner-, Dicko felt "reassured".

"I said to myself + OK, it's complicated for the French team but each athlete is different. It's your competition, it's not yet the team's competition. Today, it's your day and just +have a blast+."

Less than two years from the Olympic Games and when she was only 23, Dicko thus established herself as one of the leaders of the French collective, alongside Riner, currently injured, and Clarisse Agbégnénou, in phase recovery after maternity leave.

Asked what made her strong, she replied with her usual smile: "It's a mixture of mental, physical, dynamism. It's a bit of all that, a big salad well done!"

© 2022 AFP