As she announced after her bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics, the Frenchwoman began her double judo-rugby project this Sunday.
Amandine Buchard’s ambition to compete in the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 in two different disciplines, namely judo and rugby sevens, began to take shape this weekend with her participation in a Fédérale match 2 last weekend. Under the jersey of the Rugby Club Noisy-le-Grand-Marne-la-Vallée, the French judokate lost this Sunday against Vincennes (32-8), a meeting in which she took part in a center role.
At the end of the 2024 Olympics, which she finished with a bronze medal in the individual event and a gold medal in the team event around her neck, Amandine Buchard took the time to confide to Le Figaro the importance that the rugby in its preparation. “Over the last six months, what saved my Olympiad a little was taking up rugby. I only had judo and I couldn’t escape or feel good. And then I found a new world in rugby, with people who didn’t see me as Amandine Buchard the Olympic judo medalist but just as a team colleague. It did me a lot of good. This allowed me to be fulfilled and happy. So I want to combine the two.”
A strong ambition, but one that the Frenchwoman approaches with desire. “When I commit to something, I always go all out. I always want to perform and be the best. Afterwards, of course, the notion of pleasure is essential but I want to do everything to join the French team at 7 and/or at 15. I don’t know how that will happen. But if I have to make choices, I will always prioritize judo because it is what allows me to fill my fridge, to live and maintain my relationship with my judo family. I want to be the judoka-rugbywoman. I want to take on this challenge. Everything is possible for those who believe in it.”
