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Marie Branser (right) fought for the Republic of Congo against Russia’s Aleksandra Babintseva at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics – and was eliminated in the first round.
© What: VINCENT THIAN/AP
Changing nations in sport offers opportunities, but is also nerve-wracking. Judoka Marie Branser from Leipzig could write a book about corruption in the Central African country of Congo, which she is now turning her back on.
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Leipzig. In order to realize her sporting goals and dreams, judoka Marie Branser decided to change nations between the Olympic Games in Rio and Tokyo. It was only three and a half years ago that the native of Leipzig proudly and happily held the passport of the Republic of the Congo in her hands after various bureaucratic hurdles. In fact, she made it to the Olympics in Japan in the summer of 2021, where she was eliminated after the first fight. But the 30-year-old has tasted blood, would like to be more successful on the tatami in Paris in 2024 and – if possible without corona restrictions – enjoy Olympic flair.
For the Saxon woman, Congo was to become her land of hope in the long term – and yet it turned out to be a dead end. What to do? This summer she once again chose a new nation. In the coming week she will celebrate her international comeback in Dakar after a 15-month break from competition – and this time she will be at the start for Guinea (West Africa). She told the LVZ the background.
