Thanks to their solid 6-3 victory over last year's finalists Auxerre Judo in early December, the Champarden-based outfit have earned the right to dream of a Top 8 finish, which would open the door to the quarter-finals. All will depend on Wednesday's result against Asnières, who have had a similar record to date (two wins and one defeat), but are ahead of them by one match. «It's a real eighth, says Sébastien Lafon, president of this agreement between two judo institutions in the Grand Est region: JC Juniville and Sporting Marnaval. The team that wins will go on, and I really hope it will be us, who finished ninth last year... We've learnt the lesson from that first, somewhat bitter experience: this Judo Pro League, even spread out over the whole season, is a real sprint, during which you can't afford to miss a single match. This is all the more true this year, with the arrival of some new high-performance teams.» 

 

 

Heavyweight reinforcements 

 

In order to compete, the directors have not hesitated to hit hard in certain categories to strengthen its collective, which gives pride of place to local training: Germany's Miriam Butkereit (-70kg), runner-up at the 2024 Olympics, Switzerland's Nils Stump (-73kg), world champion in 2023, Cuba's Andy Granda (+90kg), crowned one year earlier and a regular in the region, and Amandine Buchard (-52kg), the Frenchwoman with two Olympic podiums and five world medals. «Contacts were established directly with our international athletes, such as Mélanie (Legoux-Clément),Amandine's friend and sparring partner at the Paris Games, or Théo (Lherbier), who trains with the Swiss team, for example. And that gives us a quality group, which delights all those who follow us.» There were nearly a thousand of them in Rethel against Auxerre! 

 

 

In a new dimension 

 

«Clearly, this competition has enabled us to change dimension with regard to local authorities and our partners, who appreciate this format, which is easy to understand for the greatest number of people. The day after the victory, we were also on the front page of the regional press, with a full-page report on the match! Talking about it with Émile Ntamack, with whom we've also forged links and who spoke at two conferences with our partners, reminds him of the early days of professional rugby in the mid-1990s».» Considering what rugby has become since then, it's a more than flattering parallel for the Judo Pro League!