Melanie Legoux-Clement back for gold

At the Grand Slam in Tbilisi French lightweight Mélanie Legoux-Clément had no doubts but winning a gold medal in this edition. Top seed Mélanie Legoux-Clément has experience to dish out but at thirty years old she is not quite as regular as she should be and feels the pressure, already evident, from the new generations. The French judoka could not improve, or even match, the bronze medal obtained at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam last year. Georgia was the opportunity to recover sensations and claim the right of the elders to continue winning.

Laura Martínez Abelenda (ESP) is the perfect example of those promises that have come together and have reached the elite level, to stay. She has also had a delicate period with results that did not correspond to her quality and potential. Tbilisi has served her well with a step up on to the train of success, the one that is reserved for medallists. It was written that they would face each other in the final, but they had to go above the rest, especially in the semi-finals. The French got rid of the Brazilian Amanda Lima and the Spanish eliminated the Dutch Amber Gersjes. It was not a beautiful final. Legoux Clément took the initiative at all times and the Spaniard was promptly penalised with two shido. The third fell a few seconds from the golden score. Legoux Clément straightened out her career with a providential gold and Martínez Abelenda, in addition to the silver, added points necessary for the Olympic race that begins in three weeks.

The first bronze medal was a European duel between the Austrian Katharina Tanzer and the Dutch Amber Gersjes, with victory for the former with an ippon after six minutes of golden score. The second was settled between the French Blandine Pont and the Brazilian Amanda Lima. Pont won by hansoku make.