Romane Dicko secured a silver medal in the over-78 kg division at the 2026 World Judo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, after dropping a tense final to 19-year-old South Korean newcomer Lee Hyeon-ji by ippon. The defeat on Saturday, October 10, 2026, halted the 27-year-old French judoka’s bid for a second career world title following her initial crown in 2022. Across the individual events, the French delegation finished with four medals but failed to capture a single gold title—marking the first time since 2003 that the nation departed the individual brackets without a world championship crown.
How the Baku Final Turned in a Single Sequence
Romane Dicko entered the gold medal match with clear tactical intent, driving the pace and taking the initiative against an opponent she had never previously faced. Lee Hyeon-ji launched a decisive attack that brought Dicko to the canvas, immediately transitioning into a hold-down that left the French heavyweight unable to escape.
Reflecting on the decisive exchange, Dicko described the cruel margin of the heavyweight division. “I had the match in my hands, but the only sequence where she attacks, I can’t really avoid it,” she said, according to L’Équipe. Despite the stinging reversal, the silver represents the third career world medal for Dicko, following her gold in Tashkent in 2022 and a bronze finish the previous year.
Dominant Preliminaries Preceded the Title Match
Before stumbling in the final, Dicko navigated her early-round opponents with clinical authority on the Baku tatami. As detailed by Equipe-France.fr, her morning session began with a methodical victory over Cuba’s Dayanara Curbelo Travieso, who was penalized out of the match while Dicko held a waza-ari advantage. She then accelerated through the draw, dispatching Uzbekistan’s Iriskhon Kurbanbaeva in just 1 minute and 14 seconds during the round of 16.
In the quarterfinals, Dicko needed a mere 1 minute and 18 seconds to eliminate Croatia’s Helena Vukovic. Her semifinal test brought a pairing against Russia’s Mariia Ivanova—the same athlete who had earlier eliminated French teammate Léa Fontaine. Dicko neutralized Ivanova on the ground in just over two minutes to book her ticket to the final, drawing praise from national coach Jane Bridge for her improved timing, rhythm, and tactical execution throughout the preliminary rounds.
Broader French Struggles and Team Context
The individual tournament concluded under a heavy cloud for the French team, which saw high-profile setbacks across multiple weight classes. Léa Fontaine, ranked second in the world entering the championships, exited prematurely in the round of 16 after a miscalculated attack allowed Russia’s Mariia Ivanova to seize control, as reported by Equipe-France.fr. Fontaine’s early departure left Dicko as the final standard-bearer carrying the nation’s hopes for an individual gold medal.
French Judo Federation President Stéphane Nomis did not hide his disappointment regarding the overall medal tally. “It’s hard, it hurts,” Nomis told France 24. “We missed our championship, this is not our place.” Meanwhile, Dicko rejected the notion that she should shoulder the weight of the entire delegation’s performance, pointing out the exhaustive physical and mental preparation invested by every athlete on the squad.
Looking Ahead to the Team Event and Los Angeles 2028
With the individual brackets concluded, the French delegation quickly turned its attention toward the team competition scheduled for Sunday, October 11, 2026. The team event offers a final opportunity to salvage gold hardware from the Baku championships before the international circuit resets its focus.
For Dicko, the long-term horizon remains firmly fixed on the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. While acknowledging the bitter sting of missing her second world star, the French heavyweight emphasized the importance of gathering ranking points and applying the tactical lessons learned against the division’s emerging generation. “We cry a little bit and we go back to the coal mine,” Dicko summarized of her immediate mindset.
Keep reading
