What's better than a record to prepare for the Games?
To launch her Olympic year, Clarisse Agbégnénou won her seventh coronation at the Paris tournament, in the -63 kg category.
She thus becomes the co-record holder for victories at the Paris Grand Slam with her compatriots Lucie Décosse and Teddy Riner, who could sign an eighth coronation on Sunday.
Under the clamor of the Bercy Arena, the 31-year-old six-time world champion beat Croatian Katarina Kristo in the final.
𝐋𝐀 𝟕𝐄̀𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄!
🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇
Four years after her last participation in the Paris Grand Slam, Clarisse Agbegnenou makes a golden return and joins Lucie Décosse in number of victories!
🤯🌟
Congratulations Clarisse!
👏#ParisGrandSlam2024 #JudoParis pic.twitter.com/b9GEMvnbFp
— France Judo (@francejudo) February 3, 2024
After a first fight easily won against the German Agatha Schmidt, the Frenchwoman experienced her most complicated fight of the day against the Japanese Megumi Horikawa, 2022 world champion, dominated after a fight of more than twelve minutes, including eight in overtime .
A final won in golden score
In the quarter, the reigning Olympic champion provided the essentials against the Cuban Maylin del Toro Carvajal, before facing the Dutch Joanne van Lieshout, double junior world champion and senior bronze medalist last year, in the semi-final. .
Clarisse Agbégnénou once again drew on her reserves to, after almost eight minutes, sweep her opponent by ippon.
In the final, against Katarina Kristo, she came close to defeat before winning by golden score.
Since returning from maternity leave after the birth of her daughter in June 2022, the one who also has a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Games has offered herself a sixth world title.
Bronze medalist at the Masters in Budapest in 2023, she however ended the year 2023 with a disappointment at the European Championships in Montpellier in November, without a medal.
A defeat which had “really tickled” her “pride as a sportswoman and champion”.
Saturday, at the Accor Arena, she set the record straight, and rebuilt her confidence six months before the Games at home.