In an interview with L’Equipe, Clarisse Agbegnenou, now a mother of two children, announces that she will retire after the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles at the age of 36.
It’s not a huge surprise, but it’s now official. Clarisse Agbegnenou will retire after the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The five-time Olympic medalist confirmed this Monday to the newspaper L’Equipe while resuming training at INSEP, after giving birth on March 11 to a little Dakota, adding to the family that already included a little Athena, born in June 2022. “I would like to have a sixth European title, but it’s too soon for this year (they start in ten days in Tbilisi) and a seventh world title. And win another Olympic title. “To leave as a queen, because I am already at peace,” said the Olympic champion in 2021 in individual and in 2021 and 2024 as part of a team.
Agbegnenou: “I don’t want to end badly”
And even if she wins gold individually in Los Angeles, Clarisse Agbegnenou will stop her career, that’s for sure. “Yes, because I am already at peace. The path has already brought me so much, I am already so proud. I couldn’t give more. I don’t want to end on a bad note. I feel that the young ones have been pushing for a long time. At some point, it would be unhealthy. I have already done everything. There, really is more,” said the judoka, who will celebrate her 36th birthday a few months after the end of the Olympic Games.
Agbegnenou stays in -63kg
The native of Rennes has almost already lost the ten kilos she gained during her pregnancy. So, no question of moving up to the higher category (-70kg), she remains in -63kg. The category that brought her glory. Clarisse Agbegnenou should resume judo by the end of the month, and has already marked the date of the World Championships in October in Azerbaijan, where she dreams of winning a seventh title. She had succeeded in 2023 after the birth of her daughter, before experiencing two relative setbacks by winning bronze at the World Championships and the Olympics in 2024. And it is indeed gold that she will aim for in Los Angeles.
