The story could have been perfect and so beautiful for Cyrille Maret. He, the collector of places of honor on the podiums (4 in the World Cup, 8 in Europe), the man seriously injured in a traffic accident a year ago, had the gold medal of more than 100 kg at hand . The 23-year-old Russian Inal Tasoev decided otherwise in the final fight of the 50th edition of the Grand Slam in Paris, which ended this Sunday night at the Accor Arena. A pity for him and for the French, who are content with silver (5) and bronze (9) at the end of the two days of competition.
The day started well for the bronze medal at the Rio Games in 2016, used to jousting in the lower category (less than 100 kg). In the semifinals, the 34-year-old Maret qualified at the expense of Joseph Terhec, world famous for breaking Teddy Riner’s invincibility last year. The Sucy member, who ended up crying after her loss by strangulation (ippon) in this emotional match against Maret, brilliantly surpassed 3rd place against Mongolian Odkhuu.
This is not the first time that Cyrille Maret has risen to the top flight. In October 2017, he had already tried it during the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam (with a victory), two weeks before the All-Category World Championship, where he was eliminated in the second round. Therefore, the risk was higher in terms of category. And the panache even more beautiful, especially after his previous misfortunes.
Léa Fontaine in silver too
On October 14, 2020, the Blanc-Mesnil member suffered a serious scooter accident while training at Insep. His posterior hip dislocation severely hampered his recovery. “I will come back stronger, and I will stop my career in a good competition,” he had assured then on our pages. This summer, Maret had stayed at home, the French national team had preferred Alexandre Iddir to him. The rest still belongs to him.
A few minutes earlier, disappointment could be seen on Léa Fontaine’s face, in the final of more than 78 kg. Despite being much larger (and less easily moving) than her opponent, Israeli Raz Herschko, the Frenchwoman lost after accumulating all three elimination penalties. In the same category, Coralie Hayme and Julia Tolofua obtained bronze.
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