Abderahmane Diao – Infinity of Destinies

19/07/2024

Born on June 1, 1994 in Mantes-la-Jolie (France), the young thirty-something isn’t the most talked-about judoka on the circuit, but he’s certainly someone who deserves to be. No direct family ties: our first two encounters date back to 2014. In spring in Lyon, between two doors during the French junior championships. Then in autumn in Villebon-sur-Yvette, during the French 1st division championships, where we shared the same “A. DIAO” bib, him in the U90kg category, me in the U100kg category. A mutual and hilarious “Monsieur Diao, how are you?” accompanied those first two handshakes – and all those that followed since. Since then? Since then, the echoes of a career as singular as it is multifaceted, and marked by the issues surrounding dual nationality in top-level sport. A complex theme, reminiscent of the lyrics of a well-known French song: “Infinité de destins, on en pose un, qu’on en retient?” (Infinity of destinies, we set one down, what do we hold on to?). – JudoAKD#009.

A French version of this interview is available here.

You were often ranked on the French national tour, including a fifth-place finish at the French 1st division championships in November 2017 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. And then one day you appeared with a Senegalese bib. How did the switch happen?

I debuted with Senegal at the Paris 2019 Grand Slam, but in truth it all started in 2016. The president of the Senegalese Federation contacted me after the French 1st division championships, where I lost in the second round. He explained the sporting project to me, the fact that he was doing the whole IJF tour, and so on. We met in Paris.

How did you react to this proposal?

I was flattered, but it didn’t appeal to me at that point in my career. I was 22 and I felt I still had my card to play with the French team. I was training at INSEP and I knew I had what it took. So I found it interesting, really, and I kept it in the back of my mind. And I made the choice to continue my season.

How did it go on this season, by the way?

In November 2017, I took part in the French 1st division championships again. I had a great competition, but I lost in place three to Julian Kermarrec. After that, he was selected for the Paris Grand Slam. I was a really disappointed because I was one place away from joining the French team. I did get one selection afterwards, but it was with my club. It was in February 2018, for a Continental Open in Bulgaria where, unfortunately, I got injured. It was a fracture that bothered me for a long time. I didn’t resume until April, with the goal of fighting at the France 1st division a few weeks later, this time for the team event.

Yes, and I seem to remember that you and your club Sucy Judo pulled off quite a coup de poker at that event…

Yes, I did. A week before the championships, I weighed myself at the club. It was Wednesday. We’d leave for Bourges on Friday and fight on Saturday. I weighed in at 83kg. It was Ramadan and I hadn’t weighed myself since my injury. I spoke to my coach about it and that’s when we decided to fight in the U81kg category. I lost the remaining two kilos. At the competition, nobody was expecting me to compete in the U81kg category, as I’d come fifth in the U90kg category at the start of the season. Instead of going two-up with Axel Clerget in U90kg category, I found myself in U81kg category with Mehdi Tobrouki.

*The 2018 French Team Champions selfie, foreground between Hugo Fonghetti, Mathias Boucher, Pape Doudou Ndiaye, Arthur Clerget, Adrien Raymond, Luka Mkheidze, Mehdi Tobrouki… ©DR/JudoAKD*

At what point do you enter the dance?

The coach chose not to bring me in until the semi-finals. I took on Armann Khalatian from Sainte-Geneviève, and that gave the team a boost. He was surprised to see me in U81kg category. That surprise effect enabled me to give him ippon. It was a five-weight category event and we won 3-0. In the final, it was 2-0 for us when I came up against Jonathan Allardon from ES Blanc-Mesnil. I’m behind waza-ari, then I give him waza-ari in turn, then osae komi. I helped my Sucy team to victory and we became French 1st division champions.

Quite a collective memory, from what some of your comrades have told me…

Yes, and after that performance, the Federation contacted Stéphane Auduc, my coach, to tell him it would be a good idea for me to take part in the next French 1st division individual championships in the U81kg category. And that’s what I’m doing, in November 2018 in Rouen.

How are things going for you?

Unfortunately I lost in the first round to Giga Abuashvili, the future runner-up. In the repechage I lost just before the repechage final. All in all, it was a hard day to digest. And that’s where the move to Senegal started.

What do you mean by that?

In other words, I questioned myself. In the U90kg category it was complicated. There was Axel Clerget who had just won a medal at the Baku World Championships, Aurélien Diesse who was starting to perform well, Loïc Pietri who had announced his move up to the U90kg category… I have a friend from Mantes who convinced me to go and fight for Senegal. I wasn’t too sure myself. I was convinced that I still had a card to play at French level because I wasn’t far away. Fifth place iat the National championships gives us hope of a podium finish in the near future. He told me that, on the contrary, now was the time to put my foot down and prepare for the Olympic Games. He also offered to follow me in this project with Senegal.

What happened next?

We got in touch with the President of the Senegalese Federation, whom we met in Paris. From there, I had an appointment at the embassy. I was able to obtain my passport all the more easily because both my parents are Senegalese themselves, and in February 2019, I competed in the Paris Grand Slam with my new Senegalese bib.

*Cape Town, April 2019. Alongside Darcel Yandzi for his first participation and podium at the African Championships. ©DR/JudoAKD*

That was quick! That’s not always the case…

Another important factor was that Darcel Yandzi was taking care of the Senegalese athletes at the time. In fact, he looked after me for six months. He coached me at the Paris Grand Slam and then at the African Championships in Cape Town, where I came third in April.

All in all, everything went smoothly…

But there were a few problems after the Paris Grand Slam. I had scheduled two or three dates a few weeks later on the European tour, but the French federation blocked me, because of the competition in Bulgaria with my club the previous year, when I was injured. That competition had put me on the ranking list with France. So for three years I wasn’t allowed to compete on European soil. That’s why, until March 2021, I could only compete on African soil.

How has your life been organized since you started fighting for Senegal?

You have to anticipate everything. It’s complicated because I live and train in France, so I’m on my own. I don’t have a coach with me during training, I don’t have a physical trainer, I don’t have a schedule and things are often done at the last minute, so I don’t always have the time I need to get organized… I also have to look after myself when it comes to medical care. The big plus is that my travel expenses are paid for by the Senegalese Federation. This may seem normal from a European point of view, but you have to remember that some African athletes often pay for their travel expenses out of their own pockets, and don’t always get reimbursed. The Senegalese coach follows me when I compete in Africa. When it’s in Europe or elsewhere, he can’t usually, so it’s someone from the Senegalese Federation who lives in Aix-en-Provence, so Dominique Gaudinière, the technical director of the Venelles club. The best thing would have been for him to be present when I trained, but that’s not the case. He’s the one who recently accompanied us on a training camp in Uzbekistan. He even took all the necessary steps to register us and even advanced some of the expenses at times.

You mentioned a friend from Mantes who is following you on this Senegal project. Who is he and what is his role?

He followed me for the first three years. He managed to convince me to come back to Mantes-la-Jolie so that he could follow me, but he only followed me in competitions and never attended any of my training sessions at the Institut du judo. After two years with the club, I decided to change because I didn’t have any real follow-up.

How do you manage your club and your international status today?

Since last season, I’ve been with the Poissy club. I opted for proximity, because it’s the club with the highest level that’s closest to where I live. I train there on Wednesdays from time to time, and at the Institut du judo the rest of the time. During the year, I also take part in national tournaments with the club, as well as team championships when I’m not competing internationally.

Cairo, spring 2024 with compatriot Mbagnick Ndiaye, three-time African champion in the O100kg category, winner of the 2019 All-African Games and Senegal’s flag-bearer at the Tokyo Olympics. ©DR/JudoAKD

What’s at stake at an event like the Paris Grand Slam for a profile like yours? I imagine that, on the one hand, there’s the competition on the mat and, on the other, the opportunity to take stock with your managers in the stands or between two doors, to clear up any misunderstandings that may have arisen from your long-distance relationships, and so on.

During the Paris 2024 Grand Slam, I actually had the opportunity to meet the President of the Federation. We had a small meeting, which included my teammates Mbagnick Ndiaye and Ryan Da Costa, as well as Dominique Gaudinière, director of the Venelles club who coached me in Paris, and Baye Diawara, regional technical manager of Paris, who coached Ryan.

What was the purpose of these discussions?

The president started by telling us about our fights. Then we talked about the difficulties we encounter on a daily basis. We’d already talked about them five months before, after the African championships in Casablanca, but there hadn’t been any changes since…

What difficulties were involved?

The main difficulties were linked to the fact of not having a competition schedule until the Olympic Games. I reiterated that for me it was very complicated because I have to organize my work in advance to be able to free myself, and this also has an impact on my family organization. It’s difficult to schedule our sessions and adapt them to the competitions we’re planning. Another point is that, as we don’t have any day-to-day follow-up, we have coaches who only see us on competition days. On the other hand, the people we play against at the Paris Grand Slam, for example, are in optimal conditions, with coaches who know them inside out, a physical trainer, a mental coach, video, and so on.

Does this gap seem irreversible to you?

Not at all, because despite all that, we’re not far off their level. If their capacities are exploited to almost 100%, I think I’m only at 50% of mine, and that’s really frustrating. The president agrees with all this, but in concrete terms nothing changes. It’s financially complicated to have a full-time coach in Paris with Mbagnick and me.

*Abderahmane Diao at five years old in Mantes-la-Jolie. ©DR/JudoAKD*

How was your day of competition in Paris this Olympic year?

It’s always wonderful to fight in front of such a big crowd at the Accor Arena. I wasn’t too stressed while I was waiting, on the contrary. I took on the Romanian Alex Cret. I made a good start to the fight but was caught in guard on a standing-ground transition. It was very frustrating because I thought the fight was within my grasp, but there you go.

How did the international training camp go the following week?

I was disappointed…

Why was that?

It’s complicated to find partners when you’re an African. Really. The guys often refuse and when you fight with those who agree to do it with you, there’s no intensity. But I still had a good training period. I was able to see that I was up to scratch.

What you say about these kind of patricians and plebeians thing on the tatamis undermines judo’s fine showcase of universality…

In fact, when they see an African judoka, they underestimate us. Or some are afraid of getting hurt, others because you’re not well known… It’s a complicated topic… For my part, it annoys me because the training camp isn’t 100% profitable. So I’m holding back the people who refused to fight with me and I hope to take them on in competition to get my revenge [Smiles].

It’s not cool…

That’s the sad reality. But it’s not true everywhere. At the beginning of March I went to the Tashkent training camp in Uzbekistan and it was totally different. The partners were practically chasing you and there was a lot more intensity…

*Debut at Mantes-la-Jolie (middle row, fourth from right), between teachers Omar Sow and Djelloul Kenzi. ©DR/JudoAKD*

How did you get into judo, anyway?

I grew up in the town of Mantes-la-Jolie, in the suburb of Val-Fourré, about sixty kilometers west of Paris. I don’t come from a judo family at all. My four older brothers all played soccer. I wanted to do it too, but my parents couldn’t afford to enroll us all because we’re a very large family. So it wasn’t possible.

So how did you end up on a tatami?

At the age of eight, in CE2 class, I had the opportunity to follow a judo cycle lasting several weeks with Anifa, a judoka from ASM Judo. Following this initiation, and in view of the skills and level I had shown, I benefited from six months of free judo with Djelloul Kenzi at the club. I then spent a year at the Pôle France in Marseille, followed by three or four years at the Pôle INEF. In terms of coaching, Omar Sow took over at cadet level. I spent a year at JC Chilly-Mazarin Morangis with Abderrahim Alaoui. I then spent four or five seasons at Sucy-en-Brie with Frédéric Stiegelmann and Stéphane Auduc.

Aside from judo, you told me you were an educator. Can you tell me a little more about that?

I was a judo teacher for seven years at the Mantes-la-Jolie club. Since 2023, I’ve been working as a PJJ (Protection Judiciaire et de la Jeunesse, Judicial and Youth Protection) educator at the Porcheville juvenile prison. I work about 10.30 by day, which isn’t the best when I have to train afterwards. But the good thing is that I don’t work every day, so I finally have more time to train than when I was a judo teacher. And I train every day, either in judo or in physical preparation.

*“My children are still small but I want them to be proud of their father and to set the best example for them.” ©DR/JudoAKD*

How does your daily life as an educator influence your relationship with high-level sport, and vice-versa?

In prison, your role is to help and support incarcerated minors in their daily lives and in their reintegration. Every day I’m reminded that it’s a chance to do high-level sport, yes. To travel, to win medals, to be in the running for the Olympic Games in Paris. It allows me to enjoy every moment and not give up when it’s hard. Judo enables me to keep my cool at work, to be patient with the youngsters and even to teach them my practice, since I’ve had the opportunity to initiate all the school’s youngsters. This allows me to teach them the values and the moral judo Code.

You’re also a father. Did the birth of your children play a part in your decision to take up the offer to fight for Senegal?

I had my children after I made that choice. I now have two boys, aged four and two. It takes a lot of organization with work, training, family life, travel for competitions and training courses… But it’s okay, I manage to get by with my partner and my family who support me in this project. They give me the strength and determination to keep going despite the difficulties.

How has your family responded to this challenge?

My family includes my wife, parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, cousins, in-laws… They’re all really proud of what I’m doing and especially of the fact that I’m representing Senegal – my wife is also French of Senegalese origin. My children are still small, but I want them to be proud of their father and to give them the best example. When I think of them, it gives me a lot of strength.

“As for the fact that I emerged victorious from my fight against Loïc Pietri in early January on the Judo Pro League, he who has since announced that it was his last season, it’s an honor. A real one.” ©Thierry Albisetti/JudoAKD

Whether at the France team trials a few years ago with Sucy or in early January 2024 at the Judo Pro League where, this time in the colors of Asnières, you beat Loïc Pietri, you have often been decisive in team events. Why is that?

I think it’s because I’m under less pressure. I’ve always been very strong in training, but when I’ve been competing under pressure, I’ve often underperformed… As for the fact that I came out on top against Loïc Pietri in early January at the Judo Pro League, who has since announced that it was his last season, it’s an honor. A real one.

How does it feel to realize in retrospect that you may be the last person ever to beat a champion of his stature?

It makes everyone realize how good I am. I think that if I hadn’t made the choice a few years ago to go with Senegal, today I would have been in contention to take part in the Olympics with the French judo team. I really would.

In March 2024, you came second in the -90 kg class at the African Games in Accra, Ghana. How did it go?

The previous edition, in 2019 in Morocco, I finished 7th. This year I was clearly going for the title, given that I’m seeded #1 for the event. The hall was small but full, so the atmosphere was great, especially as there were a lot of delegations. Refereeing is always so complicated in Africa, but for me it was fine. I started in the quarter-finals, winning three shidos to two – the first time I’d ever won a fight with shidos. In the semi-final, I won again by three shidos – for the second time in my career. I think I was more strategic than usual. My judo is more attack-oriented and I sometimes make mistakes, but that wasn’t the case here. In the final, I took waza-ari from the start. So I went after the guy and scored waza-ari too. In the last minute I throw sasae, I’m off balance… and he takes me to the ground.

Who was coaching you on the chair?

The Senegalese national coach. He’s getting to know my judo, but he’s not with me every day in training, so when it comes to complicated fights, sometimes it doesn’t work out. He doesn’t necessarily give me strategic or tactical advice before the fights… Even if I wanted gold, I’m still very happy to have won a silver medal. It’s great to win a continental medal!

How did the sequence of events for the African championships go at the end of April in Cairo?

The preparation was a bit complicated because I did Ramadan for a month and lost four kilos. But I quickly put the weight back on and still trained well. I came to these championships feeling in good shape and with the aim of winning.

Did you feel any particular tension as we entered the final qualifying stretch before the Olympics?

I felt a lot of pressure because there was a lot at stake. In the first round, I fought a Tunisian against whom I’d already lost once, but whom I went on to beat twice. I got the fight off to a great start, but after one move, we went to the ground and I wanted to continue standing up. We went into hand-to-hand combat – I knew that’s where the guy could take me down, but on that occasion, I felt fine… In the end, it was him who fell on top of me. And that was that.

How did you feel when you came off the mat?

I lay on my back for a while. I was very disappointed, because my whole dream had come crashing down. Disappointment and sadness, so much sadness… I went back to the hotel because I didn’t have the heart to watch the rest of the fights. Think about it: over the previous two years, in terms of the competitions I’d done in Africa, I’d taken part in all the finals. It was really hard to lose in the first round, knowing that this championship was the most important…

At the World Championships in Abu Dhabi at the end of May, you lost your opening match to Belgium’s Sami Chouchi. How did you feel about that?

Compared with the African championships, the pressure was there, but it was less. I didn’t have such a bad fight, but in the end I gave in… We’ve entered a phase of calculations to see who will go to the Games via direct qualification or the continental quota. It makes for a special atmosphere. The tension is palpable, even within the national teams, where one person’s selection can knock the other out, even if they’re not in the same weight category. When I got back from the Emirates, my question was really « Will I continue next year? » Because these last few months have left me with fewer certainties than questions, and dizzying ones at that: have I reached the end of my potential? How far could I have climbed if I’d had a competent coach, not only in competition but on a daily basis? Are we all equal in this respect on the international tour? Asking the question is already answering it to some extent. If I take the example of Clarisse Agbegnenou, who is of Togolese origin: would she have reached her current level if she had fought under the Togolese colors? If she’s as strong as she is, it’s because she’s been able to exploit her abilities to the full. What I see is that at my level, that’s not the case. Once again, it would have been great to have a competent coach to follow us on a daily basis and in competition. As Christophe Gagliano said to me, “coaching is a profession”. You can’t improvise it… At the end of June, I had a glimmer of hope of being drafted in after the Russian team withdrew. But then I found out that it wasn’t going to be me. It’s tough, but that’s the way it is.

What would the Abderahmane of 2024 say to the man who, in 2002, tied his very first white belt?

I’d tell him to believe in himself, that his strength is his determination. I’d tell him to avoid heavy diets, those that weigh more than four kilos, especially when he’s young. I’d tell him not to stay too long in his home club. Once you’re in your 2nd year as a junior, go to a big club to reach the next level and become French champion. I’d tell him that the most important thing in top-level sport is hard work. That if your goal is to be better than the others, it starts with the requirement to do a little more than the others. And if your goal is to be better in every way, this is also a requirement…. Furthermore, I’d tell him to take care of his body to avoid major injuries. Food supplements, for example, I didn’t discover until later. But when you’re training twice a day, they’re essential. When I was training at INSEP, it took me two hours to get home, and for a long time I made the mistake of not eating beforehand. If I had it to do over again, I’d eat properly beforehand, with proteins and starchy foods, and I’d prepare snacks for myself to take during and after training. Because a well-nourished body is still the basis if you want to avoid injury and perform well… Of course, I’d also tell him that you shouldn’t forget to train for yourself, not to please your trainers. That the most important thing is to enjoy yourself. And that even if the absolute Grail of our discipline remains the Games, in the end, it’s all just a game. A serious game, yes, but a game. – Interview by Anthony Diao, winter-spring-summer 2024. Opening photo: ©Mathieu Chouchane-Sucy Judo/JudoAKD.

A French version of this interview is available here.

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