Romain VALADIER PICARD of France landed on the IJF World Judo Tour in 2021, earning his first medal, a bronze in the Paris Grand Slam, a sign of fantastic things to come. Before this he had made the steady ascent, claiming Cadet and Junior European titles and since added a senior bronze to his collection. Today, on day one of the 2025 Paris Grand Slam, he arrived and stood on top of the podium to hear his national anthem.
It was my first medal last time and it was a great pleasure but this medal is different, I’m more experienced, and well in the last ones I left with no medal, so this time with the gold medal, in addition it is in Paris, and moreover against a Japanese opponent. Last time it was my arrival to the senior level and now it is a confirmation that it is my place. I’ve worked hard for it and now I’m ready for more.

Sometimes when the fight is flowing and the talent brewing, athletes can make a technique look effortless, and this always seems to be the case for Valadier Picard who threw his opposed, SEKIMOTO Kenta (JPN) not once, but twice. First with uchi mata scoring waza ari, which was followed up by a drop morote seoi nage that sealed his golden fate.
Maybe it looks it, but it really wasn’t! Not easy at all actually… I have worked a lot against the profile of the Japanese, and I entered with the mentality that I must accelerate and be ahead of him. They don’t like to compete with ‘violence’, but it is a fighting sport, and technically they are very strong so I have to find a way to defeat them, not just with skills. I think to defeat the Japanese athletes you have to put a lot of energy in to it, be very active, and I managed to create this in the fight and I think this is why I succeeded.
Of course no one enters the Paris Grand Slam with any other desire but to take a medal, but this year, Valadier Picard was sure he would be standing on the podium no matter what.
It was good, I was sure I would take a medal, but I wanted more. I was really here for more and I wasn’t here to lose the final. It’s a big step for me, and I just had to win against the Japanese guy. At the end of the year I went to Japan for two months, the first was with a friend and the second month I was alone, so it was really important for me to not let him past me or be delayed, to always be one step ahead.

With just a minute left on the clock, taking the score can hold a lot of pressure, forcing some in to a great defence mode, but as he explains, this has come with a price in the past and now he knows better.
I think with experience I manage my leads very well, even when you have the score you have to keep going. I have already made the mistake of defending after a score and I know this is how you can lost a fight. I like to think that I have not scored, to keep being precise and look to throw.
It has been a tough year for the 22 year judoka, who was in the running for the Paris Olympic Games, but was pipped by a team mate for the place.
I must admit, now it is a good feeling and a good start, but last year I really wanted to go to the Olympic Games. My dream stopped early in the year in January so it was very hard and I needed to find internal resources to move forward. I needed a little time to digest it, I was seven in the ranking, but Luka Mkheidze was better, he was third, and he succeeded with the silver medal so that was that!
Now I only want to move forward and start again.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen