Romane, what do you expect from these European Championships in Sofia?
Romane Dicko:
I will do my best to win a third title there.
Knock on wood because I have never lost in the European Championships in my young career.
I don't want there to be a premiere in Sofia, so I prepared as best I could.
I feel good in my head, in my body.
I got back to my healthy weight.
If I compare to the Tokyo Games, I've really found my best shape with no more sores and I'm really looking forward to taking part in this competition.
I miss judo because Tel-Aviv goes back two months.
Did you feel a kind of little blues after the Tokyo Games?
Right after, yes, a little.
But there, I arrive at these European Championships with a lot of desire.
I missed the big competitions.
There have been the Paris and Israel Grand Slams as well as fights for Paris SG, but the European Championships have a different flavor.
I really see them as a first step towards the World Championships which will take place in October, and in which I really want to take part.
I certainly have an Olympic medal in my heavy bag, but not for long because behind, it pushes hard.
Romane Dicko
Given your status, are you really worried about not being selected?
I think there's such competition in France in all categories, especially in mine, that of the heavyweights, that I don't want to tell myself that I'm ahead.
We saw that I was not present in Antalya and Léa (Fontaine) took the opportunity to win.
I was happy for her, but it also serves as a reminder of the competition I face.
Which is a good thing because it pushes me not to rest on my laurels.
I certainly have an Olympic medal in my heavy bag, but not for long because behind, it pushes hard.
You can also aspire to mark your territory in a certain way, like Teddy Riner did in the heavyweights…
Obviously, I want to take everything there is to take.
I want to show at each competition that I am strong, that I am present and that I am a little above the others.
It's not easy because it implies an obligation of result in each competition, but that's what I'm looking for.
This is what I work for.
I want to consolidate my status for Paris 2024.
What have you worked on in your judo since the Tokyo Games?
Many things.
There, with hindsight and after analysis, I saw that I had missed a lot of technical opportunities, which gave me a lot of work leads.
In the team competition for example, I hadn't managed to produce what I wanted against the Japanese in the final, so I worked a lot against left-handers.
I also worked on my resumption of initiative, my liaisons on the ground where I had missed too many opportunities.
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Did this Olympic bronze medal change your life, if only in terms of notoriety?
Frankly, it fell well (smile).
There was a lot of light on us for a month and a half but after that, alas, it was just judo.
Finally, I say alas but at the same time, it's so much the better because to have an optimal preparation for these European Championships.
In addition to your career you pursue studies. How do you handle all of this?
For these European Championships, it's rather simple because it falls during the two weeks of school holidays.
So I could do these Europe calmly, before diving into my revisions because I have exams the week of May 16th.
While the other girls will be recovering after the competition, I will be immersed in my exams but that is fine with me, it is the life that I have chosen with this double project that I intend to carry out.
It's important for me to keep one foot in college.
