Stéphane Auduc, coach of the French judoka who won the bronze medal in the under 60 kg category at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, spoke on franceinfo about the athlete’s “steel mind”.
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“The story is beautiful, the story is beautiful, it’s just extraordinary”, reacted Saturday July 24 on franceinfo Stéphane Auduc, coach of Luka Mkheidze, French judoka who won the bronze medal in the category of less than 60 kg at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. “He’s an extraordinary fighter, with a mind of steel”, he estimated. Stéphane Auduc was very moved: “We’re very proud, very happy for him. When you know the path of this boy, it’s just extraordinary.”
Luka Mkheidze, of Georgian origin, won the first French medal at the Tokyo Olympics. “If the Olympics had been held last year, in 2020, he would not have been selected”, recalled the coach, explaining that the judoka “managed to win his ticket to Tokyo during the selection phase which was put back in place by the Federation between 2020 and 2021”. If he said he was convinced that Luka Mkheidze “is a boy who has been strong for a long time”, the athlete is for him “like a good dish that is left to simmer: he needed time to take all the ingredients to become what he has become”.
The French judoka managed to stay in the competition despite his lost semi-final: “He is a quiet force, someone who is a good student, almost shy outside the tatami mat, very respectful. On the other hand, today he has proven that he is an extraordinary fighter, with a mind of steel. “, he estimated.
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