Judo, work, Olympics? The time trial race of Franco-Beninese Valentin Houinato

Highlights: Franco-Beninese judoka Valentin Houinato hopes to qualify for the 2024 Olympics under the colors of Benin. The native of Melun, southeast of Paris, has stars in his eyes when talking about them. “I want to take part in the greatest competition of all time. The Olympics are every four years… All the best athletes in the world are there. It’s an incomparable flavor,” explains the 1m78 tall man. Since 2022, he has been hunting for points to climb the African hierarchy: one of the twelve fighters on the continent.

Originally from the Paris region, judoka Valentin Houinato hopes to qualify for the 2024 Olympics under the colors of Benin. Not easy when you lead a double life as a journalist and…

For Valentin Houinato, the road to Paris 2024 looks like a marathon run at the pace of a sprint. The Franco-Beninese judoka aims to be on the tatami at the Champ-de-Mars Arena on July 30 to compete in the Olympic competition in the -81 kg category.

In the Georges-Pompidou gymnasium in Maisons-Alfort, the atmosphere is relaxed even if the club's training is labeled "high level". Everyone says hello warmly before the more solemn greeting of the class. Even during the warm-up, it's time for jokes: a thirty-minute game of football on the tatami mats during which Valentin particularly shines. Shirtless, the judoka turns into a slightly opportunistic surface fox and even attempts a pretty bicycle.

That day, a fun warm-up for the judokas from the Maisons-Alfort club. © Romain Houeix, France 24

After this prelude, it’s time for judo. The twenty judokas perform randoris (“fights” in Japanese) on the ground then standing under the watchful eye of their coach. Valentin Houinato gives his all, taking advantage of every moment to work on his formidable Uchi-mata (literally “mowing from the inside of the thigh”), his favorite hold which has allowed him to win several fights in his career.

“It’s all about the details”

“At the highest level, everything comes down to details. You can miss a sequence and it's unforgiving. We work a lot on my hand placement. Having your left hand 5 cm higher or lower under the armpit can allow you to launch the attack that will make the difference in the fight... or to be countered. We are working hard on this and we will do it until the Olympics,” he explains.

“I have so many memories linked to the Olympics!” The native of Melun, southeast of Paris, has stars in his eyes when talking about them: "For Athens, I watched so many videos of Ilias Iliadis, [Greek] Olympic champion in my category while "he was 17, it's as if I remembered it. For Beijing, the tests were in the middle of the night and I went down the creaking wooden staircase to watch. And London, it was crazy : I had the chance to go there for a day! With a French medal to boot."

Valentin Houinato is training hard to qualify for the Paris Olympics. © Élodie Radenac, France 24

“I want to take part in the greatest competition of all time. The Olympics are every four years… All the best athletes in the world are there. It’s an incomparable flavor,” explains the 1m78 tall man. .

Modesty is one of the eight cardinal values of judo and Valentin Houinato recognizes it: he could never have been selected for the French team. “There is Alpha Djalo [who is already selected for the Games, Editor’s note] and even beyond that, I would undoubtedly be the 10th French judoka in my category…” explains the Ile-de-France resident.

Read alsoThe gargantuan ambitions of French judo for the Paris Olympics

A link with Benin that grows with each fight

Despite the competition in France, the judoka always wanted to participate in international competitions and it was ultimately a meeting with a Beninese judoka that opened the doors to the Olympic dream for him. He suggests that he meet the Federation, adopt sporting nationality and get started. Since 2022, Beninese passport in pocket, he has been hunting for points to climb the world and especially African hierarchy: in fact, to have his place in Paris, he must be one of the twelve best fighters on the continent.

If at the start, the link with Benin was strong, Valentin Houinato sees the connection with his father's country growing gradually.

Valentin Houinato with his judogi in the colors of Benin. © Élodie Radenac, France 24

“My father is Beninese but I grew up with my mother, French and Vendée. I went to Benin when I was little but I had difficulty understanding this part of my origins,” he admits.

“But since I fought for Benin, I feel more in touch with the reality of the country. There are Beninese people everywhere in France and Africa. We don't have many athletes on the international scene, in all sports. Even in football, it's complicated. But people support us fully,” continues the judoka. “In Benin, judo is not a very well-known sport, it is a small federation. But I hope that we will be able to encourage vocations little by little.”

The hunt for qualification without a net

The advantage with Benin is that Valentin Houinato does not have to fight to be number 1 in his country. But in return, he must face a multitude of inconveniences. Besides, the question “How does the federation help you?” causes nervous laughter.

“They are entering me into competition. They reimburse me for the advanced costs when they can but there are still a lot of things paid for out of my own pocket,” says the athlete.

“When you come into competition, normally you just have to focus on your weight and then fight. Almost every time, I have to pay for the hotel on site which has not been paid for, or even reserved. In fact, I only breathe when I arrive on the mat because I managed to take the plane, go to the hotel, get my room, pass my weigh-in... I breathe while it's the moment when my concentration should be at its maximum,” he laments.

A double life as a journalist

Like many athletes hoping to compete in the Olympics, Valentin Houinato does not make a living from his sport. With the little financial support that Benin can give him, and in the absence of a big sponsor or Olympic scholarship, the judoka has no choice, he works on the side... In an intense and time-consuming profession: “Journalist, “it’s perhaps the worst job for playing high-level sport,” he sums up coldly before detailing his pace of life.

Seven training sessions per week, complete medical monitoring, daily mental and physical preparation and full-time journalistic work for France Info radio. “It’s a taste of hell because I’m not sleeping. I get up early, I go to bed late. I go to bodybuilding in the morning before coming to the radio. I arrive for the editorial conference, I go about my day, and, when the news permits, I go straight to judo afterwards,” he says.

Valentin Houinato is as comfortable behind the microphone as on the tatami mats. © Élodie Radenac, France 24

In the corridors of the Maison de la radio, in Paris, Valentin Houinato is at home. The other journalists know him and ask him for news about his Olympic project. In addition to judo, he travels his dictaphone across France as a reporter for France Info. When he is not on the field or the mat, he is at his office overlooking the Seine, where the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will take place. Affable smile, impeccable braided hairstyle, he is as comfortable behind the microphone as on the carpet.

Radio France supports him in his own way: the journalist talentedly hosts a weekly podcast on France Inter, “La prépa”. In each 3-minute episode, he recounts his daily life and his sacrifices in the style of a voice message.

“My goals in life were to work at Radio France and participate in the Olympics. So, if everything goes well in 2024, it will have been a great year...”, he slips, trying to continue to see the glass half full. “It’s a shame, these are my dreams but all these difficulties spoil them a little.”

On the tightrope

But this long road to Paris begins to weigh heavily on the young judoka: “I am lucky not to be born too stressed. There is a human limit. All this represents an incredible mental load. There’s a good reason why professional athletes don’t work nearby,” he sighs.

The journalist-judoka is constantly chasing time... And after transportation. Nearly an hour by metro between his workplace and his training location. It's not uncommon for his days to end at 11 p.m.

Between the hellish pace, the double days, the costs to advance, the logistics to manage… Valentin Houinato admits, he is having trouble getting by and it is starting to show. Heavy dark circles mark his face. He's at his wit's end.

“I have trouble sleeping. For a long time, doctors told me it was overwork and that I needed to take time off work. But this is not possible for financial reasons. Other tests indicated sleep apnea and now I'm talking about depressive syndromes... It surprised me but it's true that it looks like it. With the medicine he gave me, things are a little better. But the Games are four months away and I intend to go all the way,” he confides.

Physically too, the machine is starting to break down. The latest podcasts chronicle his battle against injuries: the ligament in a finger which remains swollen, a torn elbow tendon, a creaking left hip which will require surgery after the Games… Complications which have already prevented him from participating at several tournaments in March. In the meantime, the warrior hides the pain instead of treating the ailments.

“If you stop for six weeks, you need at least a month of full training to get back to your level,” he sighs through gritted teeth, the pain waking up in the middle of training.

As the fights continue, Stéphane Trompille keeps a close eye on the movements made by Valentin Houinato. Because in addition to technical work, he sometimes has to temper his student's ardor.

“It's never easy with the Games in a few months. We want to give 100%. So it’s up to me to ask him to calm down and not aggravate the injury,” explains the coach of the Maison-Alfort club who is closely following Valentin’s Olympic project.

“Valentin has a professional situation and an Olympic project, which makes for a busy schedule. But he would have a lot of room for improvement if he were to devote himself entirely to judo,” his coach wants to believe.

Not being in Paris to make up the numbers

Currently, despite the missed tournaments in March, judoka is on track to be part of the party in Paris. But he still has two deadlines which are particularly important for qualification: the African championships at the end of April in Egypt and the world championships in Dubai in mid-May. If he manages to defend his place in the continental top 12, then the ephemeral Grand-Palais will open to him.

Superstitious, Valentin Houinato refuses to plan for the Olympics until the qualification is officially validated. But in his mind, if he goes that far, there is no question of making up the numbers at the Olympics.

“Some will say I'm crazy but I don't want to just go in and lose in the first round. I think on a day where you're in shape, where the planets are aligned, where you're 100%, anything is possible,” he wants to believe.

Valentin Houinato does not lose sight of his vocation as a journalist either and hopes that he will be able to carry out both at the same time during the Olympic fortnight: “I must not lose sight of my sporting objective but in July, there will be special broadcasts. Ideally, I would still like to continue doing radio even during the Olympics”.

“If all goes well, after my tournament, there will be 10 days of competition left. I would like to cover for the radio, on social networks or on the air. Plus, I would have my athlete accreditation,” he says with a laugh.