The Tokyo -63kg Olympic Champion, Clarisse AGBEGNENOU, has been a poster athlete for these Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the double Olympic Champion, and 2016 silver medallist is not only a tremendous judoka, but a personality of the sport. From the second she entered the Champ de Mars Arena on the fourth day of the judo event, the crowd were chanting her name, rallying for her and carrying her through each round.
It came as a huge shock to the crowd as she suffered defeat in the semi final against Slovenian rival, Andreja LESKI, in the final seconds of the contest. Though the dream of Olympic Champion on home soil had come to an end, there was still a job to be done, and those around her gave her the strength to do it.
Coming out for her bronze medal contest, she faced Lubjana PIOVESANA (AUT) who had arguably one of the best days in her career. The Grand Slam winner has been on a roll this year, and jumped up to #10 in the world ranking list, so to have earned her position in the Olympic bronze medal contest was a huge accomplishment since switching from Great Britain to Austria.
In the first minute of the contest, Piovesana assaulted Agbegnenou with one attack after another, taking her down on multiple occasions and coming close to applying her signature sangaku. Though the movements were close, there was no score given. Now by this point, Agbegnenou’s feathers had been well and truly ruffled, and you could see that she was checking herself back in to the contest. In the following exchange, Piovesana went left on left with her opponent and left herself open to one of Agbegnenou’s famous techniques, a huge soto maki komi.
IPPON! The crowd went wild, but it was a solemn win for the French champion, who had wanted to claim the gold in Paris, for herself, her nation and of course, her daughter Athena who watched on from the tribune. Leaving the tatami, she received love from her fans as if she had the Olympic title.
The admiration and respect that her team mates, the crowd and fans alike have Agbegnenou is unrivalled by most. She has achieved what few can dream of, and to add to that, she became a mother in this cycle and by doing so has become an advocate. Though mother-athletes have come before her of course, it has been Agbegnenou who has rewritten the script, it is possible.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen