Final preparations for the Tokyo Olympics, which will start on July 23. Twelve Senegalese athletes qualified for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Among them the judoka Mbagnick Ndiaye, one of the flag bearers of Senegal, with the Franco-Senegalese swimmer Jeanne Boutbien. A dream for this colossus ” a little too soft “Said his trainer.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idraci
Push-ups, footwork: Mbagnick Ndiaye, 27 years old, 130 kilos, does the exercises on the tatami, near the parental home: ” We are at the city’s national dojo, where I started my first steps in judo. That’s where it all started, at the age of five. I had cousins, friends who did judo, I fell in love quickly. »
African champion over 100 kg in 2019 and 2020, this is his first participation in the Olympics. The judoka feels ” very happy and very serene i can say it is a dream come true. I am really proud to be the flag bearer of the delegation. There is a bit of stress, but I’m not going to set specific goals here. I’m going to fight by fight to try to make the most of every moment of these Olympics. »
A family matter
A quiet, unpretentious athlete, perhaps a little too much, according to Abdou Karim Seck, his trainer and director of the national judo teams: If he’s explosive on race day, he can handle it all, because technically he’s very good. But he’s not mean. He is tender for a champion. He must be a lot harder on the mat because people aren’t there to have fun. »
To go even further, Mbagnick Ndiaye has notably trained with the French champion Teddy Riner. Judo, a family affair: his little brother Saliou Ndiaye, 25, a smaller size, won the bronze medal at the last African championships.
► See also: Judo: Senegalese Mbagnick Ndiaye retains his title of African champion
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