Clarisse Agbegnenou, eliminated in the repechage, ends the European Judo Championships without a medal

Clarisse Agbegnenou will not be European champion for the sixth time in her career. Saturday November 4, in Montpellier, the French judoka was beaten in the quarter-finals, in the – 63 kg category, by Kosovar Laura Fazliu, number 2 in the world ranking.

For the first time since 2017, Clarisse Agbegnenou will not even get on the podium of the continental competition. The reigning Olympic champion and six-time world champion lost in the repechage fight against the Hungarian Szofi Ozbas.

In the absence of a medal, Clarisse Agbegnenou won by applause in the Sud de France Arena. Just eliminated, sweat still beading on her forehead, she blew kisses to the audience, signed autographs and took selfies with a gaggle of children.

Before complying with the media exercise. “There is a lot of frustration and I am very disappointedshe admitted to journalists. But I tell myself that it’s good too: it makes me angry. I have a lot of areas of work to adapt to opponents who have more complicated styles of judo for me. »

Unlike Teddy Riner, who, to spare his worn body, chose to skip these European Championships, the patron saint of French judo came to Hérault “in search of serenity”, “to gauge oneself” And “to impact your opponents”. “To set the record straight” also, after her defeat in the semi-final of the Budapest Masters in August, where she still left with bronze.

The drama of the quarters

In a very heavy weight category at the continental level, Clarisse Agbegnenou was served at the opposition level. She experienced a “diesel-style” warm-up against the Croatian Katarina Kristo, whom she immobilized after two minutes and thirty seconds. In the second round, she had already been pushed to her limits by the Finnish Emilia Kanerva, before winning in the golden score, after almost 10 minutes of combat.

But in the quarter-finals, things got tough against Laura Fazliu, 2022 European vice-champion and winner in Budapest this summer. The duel was unbearable, the two judokas being neck and neck.

The outcome of this clash between the 23-year-old Kosovar and the 31-year-old Frenchwoman was decided in added time, with a twist to the disadvantage of Clarisse Agbegnenou. She first believes she is winning when she knocks down her opponent and the judges award her the score… But they decide against it. A few moments later, on a move from Laura Fazliu, they did not immediately grant the waza ari… before, again, reversing their decision and choosing the winning cadet.

“I would rather lose today than at the Games”

Clarisse Agbegnenou, who had gotten into the habit of leaving only crumbs to the competition, had nevertheless anticipated such a defeat, two weeks before the deadline. By her own admission, she is not yet in top form a year and a half after giving birth to her daughter: if she has regained her pre-pregnancy muscle mass, she still lacks speed. “I’m a winner, but hey, if I don’t win, it wouldn’t matter”she explained during a press briefing.

His rare defeats – world finals in 2013 and 2015 or Olympic final 2016 – only seem to exist to carve a little relief into this block of granite, long perceived as immovable. After a sixth world title, which she won in May just a few months after her return to training, the Frenchwoman is not worried about these recent and unusual defeats. ” I am not a robot. You can’t always win, but know that I will come back stronger.”she promised on Saturday.

The young woman will leave for an internship in Japan at the end of the year, after taking a well-deserved period of rest. “It is the competitive athlete who is affected and it is normalshe insists. But I would rather lose today than at the Olympic Games where the frustration would be increased tenfold. It’s up to me to wake up and get the cards to beat them all in style. »

Clarisse Agbegnenou clearly has the summer of 2024 in her sights and the double, at home, for the last Olympic meeting of her career. “This is probably not my last year of judo, but in any case it will be my last Gamesshe has already warned. At some point, we will have to make way. »