Judo Worlds: Agbegnenou, force 5!
The French Clarisse Agbegnenou, during the -63kg final against the Slovenian Andreja Leski at the World Championships, on June 9, 2021 in Budapest Attila KISBENEDEK AFP
Text by: AFP
4 min
The French Clarisse Agbegnenou won this Wednesday in Budapest her fifth title of world champion in judo, as a foretaste of the Olympic title she is aiming for this summer in Tokyo.
Publicity
Read more
Budapest (AFP)
And five!
Imperturbable and ineradicable on the carpets of Budapest, the French Clarisse Agbegnenou concluded her career at the World Judo Championships with a new ippon in the final, by immobilizing the Slovenian Andreja Leski, helpless like the others.
Five fights, five ippons and five fingers shown on camera, like these five world titles which, added to her five continental coronations, make her enter even more into the legend of her sport.
“
I was quite serene, calm.
I didn't do a "golden-score", I did a lot of ground.
I had worked on it a lot and I'm happy that it works, it shows me that I'm on the right track.
I feel good, I have no pain anywhere, no strap,
”she smiled after her final, as if she had just come out of a good training session.
There was also in her presence in Budapest the idea of a dress rehearsal before Tokyo (July 23-August 8), blank, because her two main rivals, the Japanese Miku Tashiro and the Slovenian Tina Trstenjak, who l 'had beaten in the final of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, were not there.
Like them, many have chosen to ignore these Worlds curiously placed on the road to the Games.
But Agbegnenou decided to come to Hungary to keep the red bib, this privilege of the reigning world champions which has been like a second skin for her for ages.
“
I was not afraid.
When I come to compete, it's because I am 100%.
I wanted to have everything, the “World” and the Games, or nothing,
”she added.
The missing star
Because the Worlds are his home, with now five titles, including the last four, and two silver medals in 2013 and 2015, which are also his worst results in the event.
This N.5 gold medal, after those of 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019, now places it very close to the three most successful judokats in the history of the world championships: the Japanese Ryoko Tani, the Chinese Wen Tong ( seven titles each) and the Belgian Ingrid Berghmans (six).
At the French level, it also exceeds David Douillet and its four world titles, but remains behind Teddy Riner and his incredible 10 gold medals.
"
I am proud of what I do and of this year which is hard for me
", she explained, speaking of the postponement of the Olympics, her obsession, as a "
blow of the club
".
Because at the Olympic Games, the story is different and it is this story that Agbegnenou now wants to rewrite in his own way this summer.
Beaten in 2016 in Rio by Trstenjak, the licensee from Champigny-sur-Marne has indeed never digested.
“
I told myself that I didn't know if I would have this medal in Tokyo.
So I said to myself that I was already going to get the fifth,
”she said.
The mission is accomplished and Agbegnenou is already launched towards Japan and its Olympic dream.
“
Now there is the missing star.
"
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Judo
Sports
France