Marnavalaise Mélanie Legoux-Clément won the gold medal on Friday June 3 at the Tbilisi Grand Slam (Georgia). His first in this type of competition. A very auspicious success, which puts her back in the race for the Worlds in October.
The Marnavalaise Mélanie Legoux-Clément won on Friday, June 3, during the Grand Slam of Tbilisi (Georgia), in -48 kilos. A first success in this type of competition, just below Worlds or European championships, and which validates the progress seen in recent months, even if the results were not yet there. “It’s my first gold medal, plus a very good day of judo. I mark on the ground twice. In the final, I imposed myself on penalties, but I managed to score”, rejoices the Marnavalaise, who remained on mixed outings at the Paris tournament, then in Antalya (Turkey), with fifth places in every time. A week after the French team championships of 1re Middle Division, with Marnaval, the protege of Clément Legoux made an impression. “It kicked me in the ass, because I didn’t have a good day. But in the end, it got me back. »
For her entry into the running, in the second round, Mélanie Legoux-Clément, exceptionally coached by Lucie Décosse, who had come with young people, won with an armbar against Shakvadova (Turkmenistan), after a “waza-ari”. In the quarter-finals, the seeded No. 1 dominates the Brazilian Ferreira, on an immobilization. Marnaval’s specialty.
Then, in the semi-finals, the Haut-Marnaise, against another Brazilian, Lima, knocked down again and scored ippon on a leg projection.
“I had fun”
In the final, against the Spaniard Martinez Abelenda, the French won with three penalties for the Iberian to zero. For a big sigh of relief after the best Grand Slam result of his career! “I knew the Spaniard well, whom I had beaten at the Paris tournament a few years ago, for a place of three. Overall, everything went well, I attacked, I had fun with a great result at the end. I reap the fruits of my daily work in training. In addition, I found Lucie Décosse as a coach and I won both times, here in Georgia, in the Grand Prix, a few years ago, then in the Grand Slam. »
With this success, Mélanie Legoux-Clément, who moves up to third place in the world, on the “ranking list”, the best of her career (fifth at best), gives national coaches uncertainty. “It shows that I’m still here and can be counted on. In February/March, my judo was not yet in place. There was good and less good in Turkey. I made good use of the two months after fifth place in Turkey. I come back with the gold and I put a lot of things in place, ”continues the Nord Haut-Marnaise, substitute during the last Euro, behind Shirine Boukli, world No. 1. Now, the ball is in the camp of the coaches, in particular in view of the Worlds, in Uzbekistan, in October. “We are waiting for the selection committee. The coaches must complete the selection for the Grand Slam of Hungary, which will be held in mid-July. I resume training on Tuesday until June 23. We will probably know more next week,” concludes Mélanie Legoux-Clément, boosted by her first-class performance.
Nicolas Chapon
