Holder of a state certificate in judo since 1997, Fabrice Picco has been teaching the discipline since 2005 in the Gâtinais, in the same way as his wife Karine. “That year, I won a tournament in Amilly. Christian Armerigo and Laëtitia Deloris then came to offer me to give lessons at the Chesnoy club judo jujitsu, which has now become the Kousaï Villemandeur. I said yes quickly” remembers this native of Savigny-sur-Orge, whose desire to win is not an empty word.
“I drop everything on the tatami, you should have no regrets when you leave”
Like many turbulent children, his mother tries to frame him and Fabrice tries many sports. Judo holds his attention. He devoted 45 of the 50 years of his life to this sport. “The costume (kimono) attracted me as well as the individual side: if you miss it, it’s up to you. You pay cash for your blunders. My father is Italian, my mother Polish, we are five brothers and sisters and judo allowed me to open up to the world. I am a real competitor. When I lost I cried. I drop everything on the tatami, there should be no regrets when leaving. That’s what I teach my students,” he explains.
His students are those of Kousaï Villemandeur but also of Égreville and the Entente Sportif Gâtinaise, which he will have to leave in part at the start of the next school year to find others, but in a much more distant professional high school. Indeed, Fabrice Picco was transferred to the Vosges. This does not prevent him from hoping to return to the Loiret as soon as possible.
Sociable, talkative and endowed with a big character, he considers judo as a sport, before being a discipline. His tenacity and desire to win give him great longevity. After a senior career, which led him to win two bronze medals in European tournaments with the national team, he continues his march as a veteran in the under 73 kg category.
In 2006 he was ranked 5 th at the world championships, then in 2008, he finished 3 rd and 2 nd at the European Championships in his category. European champion in Paris in 2013, he knows the consecration in 2015 with two titles, that of world champion in Amsterdam and European champion in Budapest.
Coached by his son, Luka
On the national scene, Fabrice Picco has won the “open” tournaments he has played on several occasions, in his category: Lille (Euromaster), Tours, Angers, Bordeaux. The judoka is carried by two motors: “There is the adrenaline of competition and when you win, you have a target behind you. You are the man to beat. But if these victories added together gave him the first national place, there was not, strictly speaking, a French championship until very recently.
And, last June, Fabrice Picco was crowned French veterans champion at the Dojo Arena in Paris, being coached by his son Luka, 19, and also promising on the tatami. “He lives, eats, sleeps judo and he projects himself quickly,” his father said of him. Trained in part by his mother at Kousaï Villemandeur, Luka plays for the Élite judo Occitanie club in Toulouse.
Father of four children, Fabrice Picco was also accompanied by Kélia, one of his daughters during the last French championships. Judo with the Piccos is definitely a real family affair.
2023-08-07 08:54:01
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