Paris Grand Slam: Olympic champion Clarisse Agbégnénou wins a 7th title and reassures herself before Paris-2024

Clarisse Agbégnénou suffered but asserted her superiority six months before the Paris Olympics. MAXPPP – Laurent Lairys

With a 7th title at the Grand Slam in Paris (equaled record), Frenchwoman Clarisse Agbégnénou recalled good Olympic memories. The queen of judo is ready. Waiting for Teddy Riner, this Sunday.  

Reigning French Olympic champion Clarisse Agbégnénou won the Paris tournament (-63 kg) on ​​Saturday, reassuring herself less than six months before the Olympic Games after a failed European Championship in November .

Under the clamor of the Bercy Arena, the 31-year-old six-time world champion beat the 21-year-old Croatian Katarina Kristo in the final to offer herself a seventh title in Paris.

She thus becomes the co-record holder for victories at the Paris Grand Slam with her compatriots Lucie Décosse and Teddy Riner, who could win an eighth coronation on Sunday.

Agbégnénou had to draw on his reserves

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 12 minutes, including eight of extension.

In the quarterfinals, she provided the essentials against the Cuban Maylin del Toro Carvajal, before facing the semi-final against the Dutch Joanne van Lieshout, double junior world champion and senior bronze medalist last year. Agbégnénou once again drew on his reserves to, after almost eight minutes, sweep his opponent by ippon.

The disappointment of the European Championships is far away

In the final against Kristo, she came close to defeat before winning in overtime.

Since returning from maternity leave after the birth of her daughter in June 2022, the woman who also won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games has offered herself a sixth title worldwide.

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 "well titillated" her "pride as a sportswoman and champion". Saturday in Bercy, she set the record straight.