Deprived of the last Olympic Games, Marie-Ève Gahié took a dazzling revenge this Saturday, by winning her first title of European champion. In Sofia, in the -70kg category, the Parisian, 25, performed her judo throughout the day, notably dismissing her compatriot Margaux Pinot, finally bronze medalist, in the quarterfinals then the defending champion, the Dutchwoman Sanne van Dijke, in the final.
The Frenchwoman, who remained on four consecutive defeats against her opponent in the final, this time knew how to take it by her hand, winning the fight by the smallest of margins, on a waza-ari, not without having had some scares. . A quarter of an hour earlier, Pinot had already brought a fifth medal in blue judo by winning on ippon against the Austrian Michaela Polleres.
A comeback
Already world champion in 2019, Gahié had never before been titled on a continental scale, contenting herself with bronze in 2017 and 2020. The PSG judo licensee is coming out of a difficult pass: world No. years, she had left in the first round at the European championships then at the Worlds and had been deprived of her place at the Games, to the detriment of Pinot. This victory, in one of his good days, marks his return to the fore.
This is the second title for France in these European Championships in Sofia. The day before, Shirine Boukli, 23, had won gold in the -48 kg category.