New mum Agbegnenou thrills fans with another world title

It was just another day at the office for Clarisse Agbegnenou. Or it seemed that way.
The 30-year-old, a spearhead of the French squad at the Tokyo Olympic Games, on Wednesday clinched her sixth world title as she beat Slovakia’s Andreja Leski on day four of the World Judo Championships Doha 2023.
This was Agbegnenou’s first world judo championships after giving birth to daughter Athena last year in June.
It was a repeat performance for the two who also featured in the final of the under 63kg category in Budapest in 2021. With the Olympic Game only a little over a year out, Agbegnenou yesterday delivered a winning performance in the final to send a warning to her rivals that she is back where she belongs.
Agbegnenou countered a seoi nage attempt from her Slovakian opponent and then scored a waza ari with less than half a minute to go on the clock.
Agbegnenou retained her world title as she pinned Leski to the floor at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena. As expected, Agbegnenou calmly looked at her team camp in the crowd and gestured for daughter Athena.
Yesterday’s win was all the more pleasing since the Frenchwoman had only featured in just two competitions since Athena’s birth - the first with her club at the end of last year followed by her presence at the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv in February this year.
“I couldn’t ask for more, I worked very hard to get here,” Agbegnenou said in an interview yesterday.
“I still have things to work on for Paris 2024, but I’m proud, it’s the most difficult title, I’ve worked a lot to get there, I cry a lot too. I had told my daughter that I would put the medal around her neck, I promised her,” she told L ‘Equipe.
“It’s (winning the gold) the most difficult, that’s for sure. I’m not here for revenge, but in any case, I’m happy to have put things aside in my head, to have gone ahead and continue to work with my whole team. I closed my blinders, I went there and that’s it. To say that without a problem shows everything works. So let’s go and move forward to talk about 2024,” she said with a smile.
Also yesterday, Georgia’s Tato Grigalashvili emerged winner in the men’s under 83ks category in what was the third consecutive final against Belgium’s Matthias Casse. The 23-year-old Georgian launched an aggressive campaign against Casse but without managing a score. Casse retaliated with shido but Grigalashvili managed a deep drop seoi nage for a clear win in the tense final.

Agbegnenou at world championships
Year......Medal
2013......Silver
2014......Gold
2015......Silver
2017......Gold
2018......Gold
2019......Gold
2021......Gold
2023......Gold