Judo: Romane Dicko dominates Julia Tolofua in the Budapest Masters final

2023-08-06 23:06:08

Competing for the only ticket in the +78 kg category for the Paris Olympics in a year, Julia Tolofua and Romane Dicko were also there to win gold at the Budapest Masters in judo. Imperial throughout the day, the two French women met in the final to compete for the final victory. And it was finally Dicko, world champion in 2022, who won against the runner-up in Doha last May.

At 23, Romane Dicko, world number 2 and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, makes an impression against Julia Tolofua, 26, for selection at the Paris Olympics, where only one place per category is available. After her disappointment at the Worlds in Doha, where she was eliminated from the start, Dicko showed impressive control on Sunday.

This is the third time in three confrontations that Dicko has won against Tolofua. In 2022, twice in the semi-finals at the Tel Aviv tournament and at the Worlds in Tashkent, she also had the upper hand over her girlfriend at Les Bleues. In a tight fight, Dicko had Tolofua worn down, disqualified after three penalties.

The two Blues had no difficulty reaching this final. Julia Tolofua also won her first four fights by ippon. Only one, in the semi-finals, was played with the golden score. It was even easier for Romane Dicko, who got rid of the New Zealander Sydnee Andrews in 24 small seconds in the first round, before eliminating her compatriot Léa Fontaine then the Chinese Shiyan Xu.

Madeleine Malonga and Fanny Estelle Posvite medalists in -78 kg

Note that two other French women were entered in this category of more than 78 kg. Léa Fontaine was therefore eliminated by Romane Dicko before falling against the Korean Hayun Kim in the repechages, while Coralie Hayme was first beaten by the Dutch Karen Stevenson, before giving in against the Chinese Xin Su for the bronze medal. .

The under 78kg category was also very successful for the French team. Madeleine Malonga and Fanny Estelle Posvite also faced each other in the semi-finals, with a victory in the key for the first. Malonga lost in the final, however, while Posvite clinched bronze against Dutch Lieke Derks.

Finally, in the under 90kg, Alexis Mathieu was looking for a nice bronze medal. The French lost to the Uzbek Davlat Bovonov, before going to offer himself a place on the podium via the repechages and a victory against the Italian Christian Parlati.

The World Masters, which brings together the 36 best in each category, is the second most important competition of the year, after the Worlds.