French judo pearl Romane Dicko impresses again with gold

If there is a team that everyone envies, it is France, in its women's categories. It has three current world champions and, in the heavyweight category, it has found a rare pearl in the form of Romane Dicko (FRA). She is a fashionable girl, 21 years old and a marvel of strength and technique.

Before Tel Aviv Dicko has won the last four tournaments in which she has participated and those are big words. In the final she faced Rochele Nunes (POR), who presents a very different profile. Ten years older, the Portuguese woman does not usually win gold medals but perseveres and is subscribed for bronze. She was defeated by Dicko in a final that lasted twenty-five seconds, as if the young French woman were in a hurry or not wanting to break a sweat. Her victory was the testimony of youth, overwhelming any hint of seniority.

“What I liked the most is that I managed to execute all the movements that I work on during training. That means I'm on the right track,” Dicko explained, although, more than a road, it seems like a highway to more gold.

At 29, Maryna Slutskaya (BLR) no longer has anything to prove. She has a good collection of medals and remains unchanged among the top ten in the ranking. In Tel Aviv she added one more by defeating Jasmin Grabowski (GER) in the first contest for the bronze medal.

Maria Suelen Altheman (BRA) has three more years, many more medals and a better ranking, since she is world number three. Altheman beat Melissa Mojica (PUR) in record time. For once, the +78kg women settled their unfinished business faster than the rest of the categories.