After eight years off, Ugo Legrand, bronze medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games in less than 73 kg, dreams of competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A possible bet while his category remains open.
2 mins
Put on a kimono for an ultimate challenge. Ugo Legrand, Olympic medalist in London in 2012 (bronze), double world medalist (2011 and 2013) and 2012 European champion, has decided to resume competition, at the age of thirty-four, with the objective of competing in the Olympic Games. de Paris next summer in its -73kg category. Eight years ago, he ended his international career.
” The path that awaits me will not be easy »
” I am impatient to rediscover the emotion of competitions, to meet new adversaries and to push back the frontiers of my physical and mental abilities. I can’t wait to get back on the tatami and share new highlights with you. “wrote the judoka. And to add: I am aware that the path ahead of me will not be easy. I am convinced that the experience I acquired during my break will be invaluable to me in this new stage of my career. »
In 2015, less than a year from the Rio Olympics, Ugo Legrand had thrown in the towel, ended his career, to everyone’s surprise. He assured that he no longer felt able to provide all these efforts on a daily basis “. ” When I stopped judo, I was in a state of disgust. I didn’t feel like training or fighting anymore. “, he explains, on the YouTube channel of the French Judo Federation (FFJ). From September, Ugo Legrand will go on the hunt for points in international competitions to recover the place of best Frenchman in the ranking list world.
Ugo Legrand is not the only tricolor to dream of Paris 2024. The triple jump specialist, Teddy Tamgho, retired since 2019 and become a coach, will also try everything for the whole with a view to winning a new Olympic medal, as he announced last April.
Ugo Legrand, who lived in Los Angeles after his sports retirement, knows that in his category, there is no clear leader. If in 2015 he was ” almost on the verge of disgust “, he says to himself” excited at the idea of resuming his sport.
” Today, I have the freshness, the availability, emotional, mental, physical, even if it feels like at 34 I’m a bit old, but having stopped young makes me feel really fresh. Having had a cut, having been away from the top level for eight years, I feel refreshed. I really have this flame that stimulates me “, assures the former champion in the columns of The Team.