The image made the rounds on social media.
While competing in the semi-final of the Grand Slam of Paris against the Japanese Momo Tamaoki, Priscilla Gneto saw her mobile phone slip out of her kimono and land on the ground after a minute and thirty seconds of confrontation.
This extremely rare incident will lead to the defeat of the Frenchwoman, in accordance with the rules which stipulate that any object falling from the kimono is synonymous with immediate disqualification.
The referee applied the rule to the letter.
The medalist of the London Games in 2012 was therefore forced to fight for bronze, with a success against Mongole Lkhagvatogoo in the golden score.
But how can a mobile phone fall out of a kimono during a competition?
The incident surprised, but such a hitch can therefore happen.
Indeed, when we look at the rules, no control excludes the wearing of the mobile off the mat.
It is up to the athlete to get rid of it before getting on the tatami.
A small oversight... with unfortunate consequences.
Priscilla Gneto's cell phone fell on the ground and the fight is going to be stopped.
Icon Sport/Baptiste Fernandez LP/Icon Sport/Baptiste Fernandez
In the warm-up room, the smartphone is very present for the competitors.
It is also well used for questions of personal preparation;
to listen to music, to scrutinize the tables, the adversaries, and to receive strategic information… as well as for organizational matters, such as the order of passage, or even the number of the mat of the fights.
In this case, Priscilla's sister, Astride Gneto, was also competing in the -52kg category.
We can assume that the French followed the course of her sister in parallel, an exercise facilitated by the telephone.
You must drop off your belongings before getting on the carpet
Before entering the call room, the judokas are subjected to a complete verification of their outfit (the judogi), in order to verify the conformity of this one, size of the sleeves, the skirt, the belt... This control takes care to ensure a certain fairness in the seizure of the fabric, but the athletes can keep their telephones as well as their personal effects until the last moments before the confrontation.
It is before getting on the mat that the fighters drop off their belongings, which they will collect at the end of the fight.
Some keep their headphones until the last moment, in particular by slipping their mobile inside the kimono jacket.
It is also from this place that we see Priscilla Gneto's camera fall on the ground.
📱 ¡Esto es surrealista!
🥋 La francesa Gneto pierde the semifinal... ¡¡por combatir con un teléfono móvil!!
Ya le ocurrió lo mismo a un portugués in 2019 in Bakú.
https://t.co/6y9CJIKxFg
📽️ @Judo pic.twitter.com/7vo4dpAAIu
— EFE Deportes (@EFEdeportes) February 5, 2022
An incident like the one last weekend in Paris remains infrequent, and it will serve as a lesson to many competitors who are a little too attached to their mobile phones.
For Priscilla Gneto, this "oversight" will certainly have deprived her of a Grand Slam final, but not of a medal, since she left with bronze in one of the most challenging tournaments in the world.