A native of Tbilisi, Georgia, judoka Luka Mkheidze, who won the bronze medal on Saturday in -60 kg, had to flee his country in 2010 because of the war, before being naturalized French in 2015.
Qualified on the wire for the competition, it was he who offered France its first medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
On Saturday, judoka Luka Mkheidze won bronze in - 60kg by winning against Korean Kim Won-jin.
A victory that allowed the 25-year-old athlete to forget the disappointment caused by his defeat in the semi-finals, and above all a great reward for this native of Tbilisi, Georgia, who arrived in France only in 2010 after having to flee his home country.
Because Luka Mkheidze is the story of a Georgian kid who climbs on the tatami mats very young, around the age of 5.
Georgia is a country of judo and wrestling ... There, learning is done on a forced march.
We progress quickly and we train very small, already like professionals.
But very quickly, his passion and his whole life were swept away by the Second South Ossetian War, which broke out in 2008. Luka then had to leave his country.
After a few months in Poland, he arrives in France as a political refugee.
He settled in Normandy with his family, regained the practice of judo, before being naturalized French in 2015.
"The family, it's also for them that I fight"
With such a journey, the champion inevitably had, during his fight, a thought for his native Georgia, his parents, and this life he left on the borders of Europe.
"What made me want to fight each time, to continue, not to let go, is also my journey, the family that I had to leave in Georgia ... It is also for them that I am fight, ”he said after his medal.
Luka Mkheidze is also a “Covid” athlete, who would undoubtedly not have qualified for the Games in 2020, and who benefited from the postponement of one year. It is indeed only with his title of vice-champion of Europe, last April, that he obtained his qualification for Tokyo.