Par Thomas Rideau
Published on
Judoka Lucie Décosse (born in 1981 in Haute-Marne), Olympic champion at the London Olympics in 2012, is the guest of honor at the 31st edition of Elbeuf sur fête. She is undoubtedly one of the finest achievements in French sport with 4 European champion titles, 3 world titles and therefore an Olympic title. For us, she looks back on the great moments that made her career.
Actu : When did you start judo and why?
Lucia Decosse: It was at school, I was 6 years old. I immediately liked it. But I also played tennis, football, dance… But always judo. At one point I was only doing football and judo. I loved sports. As soon as I participated in a competition it was to win it. My family has always watched competitions on TV, it thrilled me. I loved following athletes, especially Marie-José Perrec.
When did you think you were going to try your luck in judo?
LD : When I was 16, I was offered to go to study sports judo. It was from there that I told myself that it was the right path to be champion. I immediately wanted to prove myself, to win titles. Before I left, I remember everyone was laughing, I only trained twice a week. The road was still long.
However, you won many competitions at international level, which earned you your qualification for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens in the – 63 kg category.
Lucie Décosse in dates
August 6, 1981: Born in Chaumont, Haute-Marne.
1997: Enters Sport-study judo in Orléans.
2000: first world title in junior
2002: first individual European title.
2004 Athens Olympics: Seventh after an elimination in 1/4.
2005: first world title.
2008 Beijing Olympics: silver medal.
2009: World Champion.
2010: World Champion.
2012 London Olympics: Olympic champion.
How did you approach this meeting? Were you fascinated?
LD : Well, I’m competitive… Once I got there I only had one thing in mind: to win. I was not there to enjoy. I really believed in it. At worst, I wanted to bring back a medal. But I lost in 1/4 [elle termine finalement 7e]… I had a terrible feeling of failure. It touched me…
For the 2008 Olympics (silver medal), on the other hand, things ended better…
LD : Yes I had matured. But, there too… It was a disappointment. I was world champion in 2005. I arrived in Beijing with the idea that it was logical for me to win this title. But it’s a blow. It was even very hard. The final went very quickly, I knew my opponent by heart… But hey, after when we go back to France where the medalists are celebrated, things are better. The atmosphere was awesome. And I said to myself “well, in the end, it’s still an Olympic medal” many are fighting to get it without ever succeeding. But after Beijing I changed category [elle est passée en -70kg]. And I was world champion in 2010, 2011… I won all the tournaments.
When you arrive in London for the 2012 Olympics, do you finally say to yourself that it can no longer escape you?
LD : I was ultra-favorite. I went there thinking it was my destiny. When I win the final [contre l’Allemande Kerstin Thiele par waza-ari] I feel immense relief. I immediately looked at my family. They went through all the phases with and for me. They were even more relieved than me. We had been through everything together. My whole life revolved around judo. It was a culmination. When I became world champion for the first time, I felt joy. But there, it was really relief.
Today, you are still in very high level judo since you are the U23 coach at the national level.
LD : Yes, we have a very fine generation! In the women’s team there is of course Clarisse [Agbégnénou, championne olympique, entre autres, en 2021] but we have quite a few juniors coming! In recent years it was difficult, especially for boys. But the objective for Paris 2024 is going to be to have a few more titles than in Tokyo or London. And it looks good!
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