Credit Photo: Carlos Ferreira
The fresh success of the mixed team test will have the merit both to close this event very beautifully, while proving that the French collective in this age group proves once again that it is one of the most beautiful assets of our judo and our system.
A joyful end after three days of individual competition, without Israel or Ukraine and with Germany team in very small format, whose assessment continues to dig a furrow made of satisfaction, but also, and perhaps above all, deep questions.
Fourth place
France therefore ends in fourth place in these European championships with six medals: one of gold for Emma leaf-le-le-umimgo (JC Villiers-le-Bel) in +70kg, three silver for Alice Lopez (Dojos of the agglomeration of Niortais 79) in -52kg, Audrey Guenneuge (Sainte-Geneviève Sports Judo) Same replacement when the selection is published -and Astan Sacko (Budokan Mourou) in +70kg in a Franco -French final, and two bronze for Chloé Jean (Budokan Mourou) in -63kg and Titouan Lucas (Bayeux Bessin Judo) in -55kg.
A fourth place behind the untouchable Russia, Azerbaijan, and its terrible light and Georgia which, as in Budapest among seniors, takes a title among the women, in +70kg. A fourth place as in 2019 and 2021, much better than the eleventh place of last year, but less well than in 2023 and 2022 (best nation).
Russia, which has started slowly before making a second extraordinary day. A Friday, and that did not escape certain observers, where it was a executioner without any mercy for France. Eight Franco/Russian duels for a scary result: seven victories for Russia. Only Alice Lopez, in the semi-finals, defeated Polina Furman before giving in to the final against the other fighter in this country.
Mikhail Puliaev’s group, which compiles fourteen medals: four gold, four silver and six bronze!
If we enter the detail, the first questions are out and new trends appear: the French women finish in third place behind the Russians and the Turks. They who had finished best female nation in 2013, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2023, had plummeted in eighth place in 2024, the absence of a title being unacceptable to climb high in the ranking.
This time are the Russians who finished First Nation, a second time consecutively before France. Last year, the fighters of the new Russian judo official, Vitali Makarov, won four medals, including a title. This week, they are six medals, including three titles! An ever seen and even historical performance, since they are the ones who allow their country to finish First Nation. Not sure that many would have bet on this two years ago. If it had happened that the women of this country finished in front of the French, it was an exception. Nothing is of course played, but this tendency to a significant rise in the female judo of this country, since its return to the circuit, should not be ignored at all. Russia seems to have double bites on its female group and this is not good news for France.
Likewise, the work carried out by Georgia on his daughters must be taken into account at the start of the Olympiad. There is of course the first world female title of Eteri Liparteliani in -57kg, breathtaking in Budapest. In Skopje, the country at the Cross of Saint-Georges has obtained the first female younger title since 2017 for a total of two medals, including one in a category of mixed teams, which had not happened since 2016.
With five medals, the accounting assessment is good for our women. In detail, two of them are won in the +70kg category. A blessed category for our country which benefits from various and countless talents. A poor performance, however, for Lucie Rullier, seeded n ° 1 and reigning world champion. Very sought after in recent weeks, has she lacked juice? Anyway, an appointment is made in Sofia, at the end of August, to get a second title and close in the most beautiful way of its younger years.
Three times in the best five nations in 15 years
Among the male, on the other hand, the shoe pinches. A single bronze medal, which places France in a tenth place, as in 2023. A balance sheet of a single medal identical to 2024 where the boys had finished in eleventh place. 2019 remains the best tricolor male performance with the two titles of ACBB Boys, Romain Valadier-Picard and Kenny Direze. Which was not enough to be better nation among boys. 2022 will remain like an excellent vintage with a fourth place (a title, two silver medals, one of bronze). But otherwise? Statistics are relentless: the men’s team has finished in the best five male nations only three times since 2010: in 2014, 2019 and 2022.
It ended in tenth place or beyond in 2010, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2019, 2023 and 2024. Worse, in 2013, 2015 and 2018, it returns completely empty-handed from this event.
A cadet/senior correlation that takes thickness
How to explain such results for a country that has almost 34,400 cadets this season, including 24,350 male, a recognized system – and even often envied – for its remarkable mesh (26 hope and 2 crej), the quality and the number of its training structures and its running organization?
The question arises: how to explain such a hiatus between one of the three major mass organization systems in the world (with Japan and Russia) and performance whose efficiency deserves to be better?
A problem that has run since very – too much? – For a long time, but whose lack of agenda can find multiple explanations.
The first, now very largely denied by statistics, is due to the idea that judo would be a sport at late maturity.
The second has the argument of saying that some eastern countries, by their culture, impose workloads or have an approach to this much more demanding and hard age category than in France.
The last one, finally, argues that being strong in cadets is not necessarily synonymous with a rectilinear performance trajectory until senior. The example of our new world champion, Joan-Benjamin Gaba, would testify. Third in the 2018 French Cadet Championships, our formidable -73kg will not be the holder at the 2018 European Championships (it is Robin Garbe who will be).
A legitimate example, but which should not serve as a sex cache for an underground dynamic, but which is becoming clearer: being a medalist on the international cadet championships is now a check box to reach the very high level. Thus, if we only take the 2025 world champions: Assunta Scutto, Eteri Liparteliani and Hayun Kim were crowned younger continental champions. Alice Bellandi won bronze, while Uta Abe, the gifted, won the junior world championships being younger third year. Among the male, the Russians Arbuzov, Kanikosviy and Tasoev are all European champions cadets while Ryuju Nagayama was world champion in 2011.
From the Russians, under the leadership of Ezio Gamba, who quickly observed and integrated this hidden truth to build ascending dynamics (Bliev, Igolnikov, Bashaev are also continental medalists).
The boost put by several countries to bring out efficient female generations -from the cadets (recruitment by Azerbaijan of Amina Abdellatif is proof) would be tempted to say -, the ever -increasing correlation between international and senior international podiums. Two systemic subjects of reflection, the first of which was discussed without detour by Frédérique Jossinet at the end of the senior world championships, that this beginning of Olympiad has the merit of putting before our eyes.
