(Paris) When his repechage bout ended, Arthur Margelidon knelt on the tatami. The Montrealer had just seen his chances of a medal slip away for the second time in a row at the Olympic Games.
In the arms of his coach Antoine Valois-Fortier, he seemed inconsolable. A long hug allowed him to regain his senses.
“A mistake” and “details” allowed the Italian Manuel Lombardo, fourth in the world, to beat Margelidon by ippon in 50 seconds.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Arthur Margelidon was beaten by Manuel Lombardo in less than a minute.
Injured in Rio in 2016, condemned to a fifth place in Tokyo in 2021 and unable to play in a medal match this year, the Quebecer’s Olympic experience is still marked by disappointment.
According to him, something “is not working” as he approaches his ultimate goal.
“I struggle when we get close to the medal. There’s like something clicks,” he says, at a loss for explanations.
Breathless
Before leaving for Paris, Margelidon had confided in The Press wanting to “die in Paris”, thus expressing his desire to give himself body and soul on the tatami to avoid any regrets.
He will leave without a medal, but convinced that he has fulfilled part of his mission.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Arthur Margelidon
Margelidon spent more time than anyone else on the mat on Monday. Three of his four fights required the added time, the famous Golden ScoreThe usual duration of a fight is four minutes. If the tie persists, the two judokas fight until one of them scores a point, by waza ari or by ippon.
In total, the Quebecer spent 15 minutes and 25 seconds on the red and yellow surface, only in added time. “It’s completely crazy,” Valois-Fortier said later in the evening.
He spoke of a “phenomenal” day for his former teammate.
Less certain, Margelidon nevertheless admitted to no longer having an ounce of energy in his system after his four fights of the day. “I told myself that it is not true that I am leaving with energy still in my body. That is something I can be proud of.”
I really gave my all for the medal. But I can be confident and happy. [d’avoir] really gave my all in my performance today.
Arthur Margelidon
Before his repechage match, two hours after his quarterfinal clash, Margelidon knew he no longer had a chance of winning Olympic gold. To keep him hooked, Valois-Fortier gave him one piece of advice: “You don’t want to wake up in 10 years and say, ‘If I had woken up in those fights, I would have gone further.'”
The result didn’t go his way, but the 30-year-old still took away some positives from his day. Like his quarterfinal match, where he nearly knocked off world number one and eventual gold medalist Hidayat Heydarov several times during the marathon duel that lasted more than 10 minutes.
Margelidon’s day:
Round of 16: 1-0 victory against Behruzi Khojazoda
Round of 16: 10-0 victory against Igor Wandtke
Quarter-finals: 10-0 defeat against Hidayat Heydarov
Repechage: 10-0 defeat against Manuel Lombardo