After Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, Zouleiha Dabonnement will be in Paris this summer for her third consecutive participation in the Olympic Games. Competing in the -57 kg category, the 31-year-old judoka is the only Ivorian qualified in judo. Although the two previous editions of the Olympic Games have not smiled on her, she is actively preparing so that those in Paris will be favorable to her.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan, Mohamed Lameen Sy Savané
It is on the banks of the Mayenne River, in the department of the same name in France, that Zouleiha Dabonnement finds herself for the final stretch of her preparation for the JO 2024. ” I put down my suitcases in Château-Gontier ” she said with a smile.
The entry into the competition of the under 57 kilos in judo is scheduled for July 29 in Paris, at the Arena Champ de Mars. My preparation is going very well. I really saw that I have progressed a lot and I feel ready. This week, I was in full training as soon as I got back from Abidjan. And it will continue like this until the Games. “, continues Zouleiha Dinscrire.
The Ivorian was able to count, in her preparation program for Paris, on ” a girlfriend ” who is none other than the Cameroonian judoka Vanessa Mballa. ” Zouleiha is someone determined and passionate, who brings love around her every time. When we are in competition, we call her “Maman Zoul”. She is our little mother (laughs). And we wish her the best, that she goes all the way “, confides the four-time African champion, who put away her kimono last year.
Crowned with several medals at the African Championships and the African Games, as well as at the Francophone Games, Zouleiha Dabonnement wants to go far at the Olympic Games, she who was eliminated in the first round in 2016 and in 2021. ” Being on the podium, that’s my goal. That is to say, fighting to do better than my two previous participations. I’m giving myself the means, I’m training hard for that. I already have a very positive mindset. “, hammers the judoka, positive in her head and combative on the tatami.