Agbegnenou maps out one last run: back after baby Dakota, aiming for LA 2028 farewell

Clarisse Agbegnenou has never been the type to drift toward an ending. The French icon, an Olympic champion and six-time world champion, has now set a firm timeline for the final stretch of her career: she plans to retire after the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. At 33, that decision turns the next years into a deliberate last mission, shaped on her own terms.

Before that Olympic finish line, there is a different return to manage. After the recent birth of her second child, a son named Dakota, Agbegnenou is preparing to re-enter elite sport once again. Her previous comeback after motherhood already proved how quickly she can re-establish herself among the best.

She’s not chasing noise—she’s chasing a finish she can be proud of.

Her plan is being built step by step. Agbegnenou intends to resume training at the end of April, with an ambitious target of competing at the 2026 World Championships. Despite the natural changes that follow pregnancy, she is determined to stay in her trusted -63kg category.

The record she brings into this final cycle is massive. She became Olympic champion in Tokyo in 2021, also winning mixed team gold there. In Paris 2024, she added another Olympic mixed team title and an individual bronze medal, while her earlier Olympic silver from Rio 2016 highlights just how long she has stayed at the top.

From a European perspective, her consistency stands out even more: six European titles and numerous team gold medals underline how strongly she has shaped the continent’s standard in women’s judo. In France, she has become a symbol of the sport, winning the Paris Grand Slam seven times and carrying the French flag at the Tokyo opening ceremony—recognition of both results and leadership.

LA 2028 won’t be “just another Games”—it’s the closing page of an era.

What makes this story hit is not only the medals, but the balance she has pursued: elite performance and motherhood, while still competing against a new generation. Agbegnenou says she is already at peace with what she has achieved, and that calm confidence sets the tone for the road ahead.

Source: JudoInside