A year after her title, Margaux Pinot sets out to conquer the world again despite a preparation hampered by injury

Late Monday afternoon, in the Papp Laszlo Arena in Budapest, Margaux Pinot won the first bout for a judoka: the shot put bout, during the official weigh-in, on the eve of her entry into the competition. So, one less weight for the 31-year-old Frenchwoman, who will be attempting to win a second consecutive world title in the -70 kg category. "With a podium finish, I'll be happy, and if I'm world champion again, I'll be even happier," she confided ahead of her fifth participation.

This caution is explained by her humble nature but also by a particular season: although she won the world final against Marie-Ève ​​Gahié last year, it was her teammate at PSG judo who was preferred to her for Paris 2024 (7th in -70 kg), unlike Tokyo 2021 (Pinot was unranked).

What's more, an injury to her right elbow (which she had operated on) has been bothering Pinot all season. She wasn't able to return to competition until early May at the Tajik Grand Slam , where she was beaten from the start . As a way to regain her sense of form, she asked to return to the tournament two weeks later at the Benidorm Open in Spain, which she won against lesser odds. But the main thing was elsewhere, she says: "It allowed me to regain confidence and get my bearings with a real competition in my legs before the World Championships."

"We brought it back to the level it can be."

Following this, the double European champion (2019 and 2020) took part in the international training camp. "We did a lot of rehearsals of throws because she needs that for the sensations, the timing as she does a lot of knee seoi nage. We brought her back to the level she can have," says Jane Bridge , who will support her in the coaching chair on Tuesday.

Although she only joined the French team after the 2024 Olympics, the Franco-British athlete has known Pinot since her junior days, when she was with the Peugeot-Mulhouse club. She will therefore be able to find the words to reassure the Frenchwoman, as she did last year in Abu Dhabi, even though she was coaching Sweden at the time. "Being away sometimes makes it easier to get messages across," Bridge said. "I reminded her that she's trained hard and has a lot of strengths. Nothing earth-shattering, but it helped her." With the title in her pocket, the judoka thanked her warmly.