Clarisse Agbegnenou hits twice. For a second time after 2019, the “Queen Clarisse”, sacred Olympic judo champion this summer in Tokyo (individually and in teams) was named French sportswoman of the year, by the editorial staff ofWest France. The native of Rennes, in 1992, has since grown up. Five-time world champion, three-time Olympic medalist (silver in Rio in 2016), she left no chance to other French athletes this year. Moreover, if we widen a little, Clarisse Agbegnenou is probably the greatest blue sportswoman of the past five years.
Clarisse, West France crowned you French sportswoman of the year 2021. Between your Olympic gold medals and this title, what do you choose?
(Laughs). It’s a shame, because precisely, I was going to tell you that I was hesitating! In any case, it’s very kind of you, I’m very proud of this vote, of course, because I know that some beautiful athletes were on the starting line and I’m very happy that it was me, in the end. Well, I admit that I would have taken it badly if the newspaper of the city where I was born had not voted for me (laughs) …
How would you qualify your year 2021?
Bouncing. Between 2020 and the beginning of 2021 with big confinements, the postponement of the Games, I was lost, I did not know what to do, I did not know where I was. I was devastated, it was chaotic. Then I went ahead, the Games were progressing well, and it ended superbly… We had to go to the front, it’s been a year of roller coasters so somewhere, I’m even more proud of it of how it ended.
“I am the champion of the universe, in fact! “
The word relief seems the most appropriate to sum up your thought, in Tokyo, when you won the gold …
Exactly. I’ll write it with an even capital S! I left there with only that in mind, in the village I knew that I could not go back, that I was facing myself. It went so fast, my day arrived, it was now or never. I win, I also bring back two gold medals. After all this time, I would have been sorry to miss this deadline. Since then, I am on my little cloud and I would never come down elsewhere. I don’t want (laughs)…
How does it feel to say that you are an Olympic champion?
I am the champion of the universe, in fact! All my life it will be written next to my name from now on, no one will be able to change it … I am forever the first to have won two gold medals in judo … But frankly, I have difficulty in realizing because since then , I didn’t spend a lot of time on my own. But it is precisely in the eyes of others that I realize what I have done. I will have known “War Games”, almost, without anyone, without friends, without relatives, without celebrations. But on my return, I took advantage of it.
Did you say these medals were the end of a cycle?
Yes, a cycle of about ten years, tumultuous, where I evolved, grew, acquired maturity with the sole aim of becoming the champion that I have become. I fell, I got up, a lot of things have changed, in my life too, and a lot of things will change in a new cycle now. There will be new approaches, new people. It will be different, of course. I still have a lot of battles to fight. I take it as something very beautiful that is going to happen.
Before the Olympics, you told us that you had been saying “no” to everything for years. Since August, have you finally been able to say “yes”?
Sure. I finally said yes to my friends, to my relatives, for meals, parties. Before, I said no to all that, only yes to sport. Since then, I take the opportunity to rest, too. It’s good to unplug a bit, too, I wasn’t used to that.
You will be 30 years old this year …
But that doesn’t bother me (laughs)! Years go by, things change. My path is being built, I feel good. I have a diploma (as a life coach), my post-career is also taking shape.
Do you have any resumption projects with judo?
Not yet. I let this year end quietly, in beauty, I am still very tired honestly. I will resume, for sure, Paris 2024 motivates me enormously, but I have time.
READ ALSO. Born in Rennes prematurely, adjutant, engaged… Six things to know about Clarisse Agbégnénou
“Judo is like cycling, it can’t be lost …”
You also said that you would like to have a child before Paris 2024 …
This is also a new cycle. It would be great, I would take it as a huge springboard. In Japan I won for myself, there I would fight for my family, a child …
But the Olympiad is short, Paris 2024 is already in two and a half years, for a sportswoman it is not easy to project yourself as a mother and an athlete very quickly behind, right?
It wouldn’t be easy, that’s obvious, but it would be a great challenge. And of course we can’t decide everything, it will come when it comes, it’s not like a judo fight that we can master. I hope, of course, that it will happen as soon as possible, but hey… I’m ready for it, anyway. I’m sure judo is like cycling, it can’t be lost. At least not after doing so much judo in years.
READ ALSO. Judokate Clarisse Agbegnenou also fights sexist stereotypes
Your popularity has evolved, again, since this summer. You take a stand for causes. How do you see your role today in French sport?
It’s true that things have changed a lot. The gold medal is something else, you can see it in people’s eyes. I am proud today that my word can count for some. If by what I say, it can help people, then I am very happy and I will not deprive myself of speaking or expressing myself for fear of reactions. We are expected, the sportswomen, the women, to say things. Me, I am rather modest, but if it is necessary to be there to boost, to carry causes, I will be there.
And you, who is your sportswoman of the year?
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