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Judoka Andrea Leski won the Olympic gold medal in the 63 kg category today, bringing Slovenia its first medal at the Paris Olympics. In the final, the Slovenian defeated the Mexican Prisca Alcaraz with an ipon. Her semifinal victory over Clarisse Agbegneou, who defended her title at the Tokyo Olympics, was also memorable.
PARIS/LJUBLJANA – Just like in the quarterfinals, 27-year-old Kopulcan also turned the tables in the final. The Mexican woman started the fight decisively and won in just 25 seconds.
Leska saved herself again in the next grab, and she managed to escape her opponent’s grasp. But all this did not faze her, and the Slovenian’s quick move followed 1 minute 44 seconds into the match, and Yipen stayed on the ground for 10 seconds for the victory.
“It’s unbelievable, it’s a fairy tale. I’m so ecstatic that even in the hall I didn’t know where to go or who to celebrate with. I’m overjoyed,” she said in her first statement to Slovenian media.
The only clash before today’s final was won by the 28-year-old Mexican, who had the better performance in the semifinals of last year’s Grand Slam in Tashkent. Leski is currently ranked seventh in the world rankings of 63 kg, while Alcaraz is ranked 18th.
“My goal was to start at full speed in all five games. Now I will celebrate this victory with everyone present here,” the Bezhigrad member said in an official broadcast.
Her coach Luca Kuralte was also very happy about her success and said that she has not yet fully realized the achievement. “It’s crazy. I don’t think I have fully understood it yet because it is really an extraordinary thing for me personally, Andrea and everyone,” he said, adding that he and his disciples believe that a resounding result is possible. “If you don’t believe, you can’t achieve it. First you have to believe, and then this success will follow.”
Congratulations on your gold medal. President Natasha Pirk Mussar and Prime Minister Robert Golob also congratulated Leska on her performance on the X social network. “The tradition of Olympic medals in Slovenia’s judo continues successfully,” the president wrote.
In the first statement broadcast on official broadcast, Leski also reflected on Slovenia’s success: “This is a new historic day for Slovenian judo in the 63 kg category. I am very happy.”
The road to the final was tense. In the quarterfinals, the Slovenian first defeated Canadian Catherine Boscheman-Pinar, the bronze medalist from Tokyo, after falling behind Vazzari, and then defeated the 31-year-old French champion Clarice Agbeninu to advance to the final. An old friend of the Slovenian judoka.
“It was unforgettable to silence the hall, to compare the noise before with the silence at the end. Clarice will have to eat it up,” Leski told Slovenian media, a bit mischievously.
In the audience, last year’s world runner-up was also encouraged by her compatriot, silver medalist from Tokyo, Tina Terstenjak, who lost to Aberganenu in the final three years ago. She had beaten the Frenchwoman at the Rio Olympics eight years ago. But this time, Aberganenu had to concede the advantage to her Slovenian opponent again, except that Terstenjak replaced Leski on the mat.
“It ended like a dream, but the journey was really hard. France prepared everything to celebrate Clarisse Agbeninu, who they face in the semi-final. France really had the support of the whole hall and when you win a match like this, you really deserve it,” said Ter Stegenjak after Slovenia clinched gold today.
Agbeninou, a six-time world champion and five-time European champion, then battled Austrian judoka Lubjana Piovisana for the bronze medal, which she won in front of a boisterous home crowd at the Hall of War.
The second bronze medal went to Laura Fazliu from Kosovo, while Croatia’s Katarina Krišto received a third yellow card, which automatically means a red card in judo.
Following Andrea Leški’s victory today, Slovenian judoka has won medals at six consecutive Olympic Games. The series was started 20 years ago in Athens by Urška Žolnir, who this time took part in the Slovenian House project in Paris, which will host a reception for Leški tonight at 10 o’clock.
In a statement to STA, former judoka Zolnier said Andrej Leshka’s medal was the result of hard work and a lot of sacrifices by Leshka and her team.
Leski won Slovenia its eighteenth Olympic gold medal, exactly 100 years after the first Olympic gold medal for a Slovenian athlete was brought home from Paris by legendary gymnast Leon Štukelj.
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