Clarisse Agbegnenou makes strong return at Lausanne Grand Slam

The inaugural Lausanne Grand Slam ended with a strong return for Clarisse Agbegnenou and a series of notable victories across the final day. The French judoka competed again after giving birth to her second child, and her performance provided an encouraging step towards the world championships in Baku.

Agbegnenou won her opening three bouts in the -63kg category, including a quarter-final success against reigning European champion and 2024 world champion Joanne Van Lieshout. Her run ended in the semi-finals when Angelika Szymanska, the 2024 world silver medallist, scored a yuko 10 seconds before the end. Agbegnenou, a six-time world champion and 2021 Olympic champion, is targeting a seventh world title in October. The 33-year-old has also identified the 2028 Los Angeles Games as her final major objective.

The closing finals produced further landmark results. Umar Bozorov won the all-Uzbekistan -90kg final against Nurbek Murtozoev for his second Grand Slam title, while Poland’s Anna Monta Olek claimed her fifth after overcoming Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko in the -78kg division. Léa Fontaine defeated fellow Frenchwoman Romane Dicko in the +78kg final, and world champion Inal Tasoev secured another gold in the +100kg category against Martti Puumalainen. The programme also featured an inclusive kata display involving Joshiro Maruyama and Petra Orešković, alongside a closing celebration for adapted judo and deaf judo.