Clarisse Agbegnenou

Clarisse Bogdanna Agbegnenou (born 25 October 1992) is a French judoka.

A member of Arts Martiaux d'Asnières, she was European junior champion and French vice-champion in the under 57 kg category in 2008, then French junior champion in the under 63 kg category in 2009, before entering INSEP.

She joined the Judo Club Escales Argenteuil that same year, at the age of 16 and a half, and worked with the club's founding president, high-level coach Ahcène Goudjil.

Competing in the −63 kg weight division she won the European title in 2013, the world title in 2014, an Olympic silver medal in 2016, and an Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in July 2021.

Agbegnenou was born to Togolese parents; she holds a dual citizenship and maintains strong ties to both countries.

In 2013, she won her first international gold medal, beating Russia's Marta Labazina at the European Judo Championships.

Following a brawl involving her (and other judoka, who were acquitted) for violence committed at the INSEP against Anne-Fatoumata M'Bairo on April 12, 2013, she was sentenced by the Federation to a one-year suspended competition ban (three months for Priscilla Gneto, Madeleine Malonga, Fanny Posvite and Linsay Tsang Sam Moi), then in July 2014 by the courts to 70 hours of community service and a fine of 2,780 euros.

Togo's president Faure Gnassingbe personally congratulated her after she won the 2014 world title.

In 2014, she defeated Israel's Yarden Gerbi by ippon to become world champion in under 63 kg.

She was silver medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics and gold medalist at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

She became Olympic vice-champion, winning the silver medal in the under 63 kg category at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, losing in the final to Slovenia's Tina Trstenjak.

After the Games, she joined the Red Star Club (RSC) de Champigny-sur-Marne.

A few months later, on September 1, 2017, she was crowned world champion in the under 63 kg category in Budapest, defeating Slovenia's Tina Trstenjak, who had beaten her in the final of the Olympic Games a year earlier.

She thus becomes the most successful French judoka in history, ahead of Lucie Décosse, Gévrise Émane and Brigitte Deydier, who each have three world titles, and remains unbeaten since December 2017.

At the end of December, she again wins L'Équipe's Champion of Champions trophy, alongside Julian Alaphilippe.

At the 2018 European Judo Championships in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, she wins the European under 63 kg crown against Slovenia's Tina Trstenjak, beating the latter by waza-ari after seven minutes of combat.

On September 23, 2018, at the World Championships in Baku, she defeated Japan's Miku Tashiro by ippon on the Golden Score to become world champion under 63 kg for the third time.

At the World Judo Masters in Canton, she defeats Japan's Nami Nabekura in the final, remaining unbeaten throughout the 2018 season.

In December, she is voted L'Équipe 2018 Champion of Champions along with Kevin Mayer.

On June 6, 2019, she was named flag-bearer for the French delegation at the 2019 European Games in Minsk.

In the judo competitions, she wins a fourth continental title, defeating Britain's Alice Schlesinger in the final.

On August 28, 2019, Clarisse Agbégnénou became world champion for the fourth time at the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo's legendary martial arts and concert hall, beating Japan's Miku Tashiro by a golden score after a particularly remarkable eleven-minute bout.

Nippon Budokan where Clarisse Agbégnénou earned her fourth world title and her two Olympic titles at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The only title she lacks in 2020 is Olympic gold, which should have been at stake again on the tatami of the same Nippon Budokan in 2020 (but these Olympic Games were postponed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic).

She wins a fifth European title at the 2020 European Judo Championships in Prague.

She wins a fifth world title on June 9, 2021, at the 2021 World Judo Championships in Budapest, where she wins all five of her bouts by ippon (for the fourth consecutive time), triumphing in the final over Slovenia's Andreja Leški.

On July 5, 2021, she was named flag-bearer for the French delegation to the 2020 Summer Olympics by the CNOSF, along with gymnast Samir Aït Saïd.

On July 27, 2021, four days after leading her delegation in the opening ceremony, she took her revenge in the final against Slovenia's Tina Trstenjak, who had beaten her at the Rio Games.

After 37 seconds in the Golden score, and thanks to a sweep that gave her Waza-ari, she won the gold medal at the Tokyo 202032 Olympic Games.

Four days later, she won mixed team gold with Romane Dicko, Axel Clerget, Sarah-Léonie Cysique, Guillaume Chaine and Teddy Riner, after beating the Japanese team 4-1 in the final.