It isn’t every day you get to learn from five-time world champion and Tokyo Olympics double gold-medallist Clarisse Agbegnenou. That’s the perk awaiting four young Island judokas as they leave today for the Air Tahiti Nui International Judo Challenge in French Polynesia.
Training sessions with French greats Agbegnenou and fellow-Olympian and European-champion Matthieu Bataille will follow after the competitions. Attending the event as part of Team sa国际传媒 are young Victoria Regional Training Centre members Eli Grant, William Flett, Iain Walsh and Finn Cullen.
“The chance to meet Olympic and world championship athletes is going to be a great experience and life lesson,” said Flett, of the opportunity.
“They are an example of what you can accomplish with enough effort and hard work.”
Effort and work is exactly what the group of teenage Island judokas plan on putting in themselves as their careers unfold. Judo was the perfect outlet for a self-described “rambunctious child,” said Flett, 14, a Grade 9 student at St. Andrew’s Regional High School.
He joined the sport at age nine and has his green belt with bigger dreams up to the black-belt degrees, as do his three Island teammates.
Despite being combat events, it is counterintuitive that many of the martial sports, particularly those originating in Asia, should have perhaps the greatest reverence for sportsmanship.
“Friendship, sharing and fair play are the leitmotivs that drive me on a daily basis. So I am convinced that sport softens hearts and brings men and women together,” said Agbegnenou in a statement.
“In my opinion, it is of public utility, instruction, education and fraternity. I am therefore proud and honored to share these values and to take part in the 2021 edition of the Air Tahiti Nui International Challenge. It’s a great opportunity for me to live this moment with each of the participants and to make my modest contribution by sharing my experience.”
Judo is huge in France with four of its opening-ceremony Summer Olympics flagbearers since 1984 being judokas, including Agbegnenou this year in Tokyo.
The Island contingent plans to soak it all in, from the competition portion to the training portion with Agbegnenou and Bataille, the latter who was a referee in the Tokyo Olympics following his retirement from his competitive career.
The event in Tahiti will feature teams from sa国际传媒, Australia, New Zealand, United States, France, Japan, New Caledonia and Chile. Bataille will referee the finals.
“We realize we are in a lucky position to be able to do this and the sa国际传媒 team is taking a lot of precautions regarding the travel,” said Flett.
The sport is thriving on the Island with Judo sa国际传媒 announcing three Victoria Regional Training Centre athletes among its selections for the prestigious 2022 national Elite8 Championship taking place next month in Edmonton. They are Mira Calder in senior, Nyota Morisho in both senior and U-18 and Flett in U-18.
And the best young judokas from around the province will gather in Langford for the sa国际传媒 youth provincial championships Feb 4-6 at the Eagle Ridge Arena.
