French judoka Léa Fontaine, 22, failed in the quarter-final and then in the repechage match at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi, finishing without a medal in the 78 kg category.
Fontaine lost in the quarter-finals, short of solutions, against the Turkish Hilal Ozturk, then against the Korean Kim Ha-yun in the repechage towards bronze. She finished 7th. Triple European junior champion, Fontaine remained on a bronze medal a month ago at the European Championships. She had already brought home European silver in 2021.
The Frenchwoman had started the day well against the Uzbek Rinata Ilmatova with an o-uchi-gari (large inside scythe), scoring ippon in just 50 seconds.
Against Croatian Ivana Sutalo in the round of 16, she followed up with two other inside scythes, worth two waza-ari – two points equivalent to one ippon. Fontaine was the last Frenchwoman competing, men and women combined, in these World Championships. There now remains the mixed team competition on Friday.
Frenchwoman Léa Fontaine, 22, failed in the quarter-finals then in the repechage at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, without a medal and with “regrets” while she was aiming for the title in the 78 kg category.
Fontaine lost in the quarter-finals, short of solutions, against the Turkish Hilal Ozturk, then against the Korean Kim Ha-yun in the repechage towards bronze. She finished 7th in her category.
“I’m frustrated, during the repechage I was still in the fight for the quarters,” she reacted quickly, “I wanted to do well and show that I could be world champion today, I pushed myself too hard. focused on that.”
Triple European junior champion, Fontaine remained on a bronze medal a month ago at the European Championships. She had already brought home European silver in 2021.
In Zagreb at the Euro, “she managed to get back into the race after a completely missed quarter, like today, but there she did not succeed,” summarized Christophe Massina, head of the French women’s team. , “very annoyed” after the judoka’s day.
“When you don’t want to win, you don’t win,” complained Massina, “she didn’t follow the instructions, (…) she wasn’t there.” “Judo is there, she is capable of doing great things, but when she has both feet in the same shoe, she doesn’t do it,” he concluded. Affable, Fontaine nevertheless welcomed the Uzbek Rinata Ilmatova in the first round with an o-uchi-gari (large inside scythe), scoring ippon in just 50 seconds.
Against Croatian Ivana Sutalo in the round of 16, she followed up with two more inside scythes, worth two waza-ari – two points equivalent to one ippon. “What’s frustrating is that I have the solutions but I don’t do the job,” she explained, “I was afraid of doing it wrong, so I didn’t dare.” Fontaine was the last Frenchwoman in the running, men and women combined, in these World Championships. There now remains the mixed team competition on Friday.
“It’s only a postponement, next time will be the good one,” promised Fontaine, who sees the team competition as “a way to come back quickly.” “I have regrets, but I have to erase this day to get a team medal,” she finished.