At 19, Koumba Larroque goes to conquer the world

She is only 19 years old but wears a large part of the hopes of a French struggle in loss of speed: Koumba Larroque leaves Thursday to conquer a first world medal in the seniors, at home, in Paris-Bercy.

“As soon as there is a competition, I need a medal, because I am really too bad loser,” assumes with a malicious smile the young 19 year old wrestler, Koumba Larroquewhich fights in the category of under 69 kg. Double world champion (younger in 2015, junior in 2016) and quadruple European champion (younger in 2015, junior in 2016 and 2017 and U23 in 2017), she quickly took a liking to the “box”, she who has been fighting in her club in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, in the Paris region for ten years.

His almost linear progression even allowed him to win his first senior successes this year, including the Paris tournament in January at the'Insephis new house. Because since September, Koumba Larroque Leave the France Jeunes Pôle de Clermont-Ferrand to take up residence in the French sport nursery, on the side of the Bois de Vincennes.

“It's different. In Clermont-Ferrand also I was fine, because I trained with the boys. Here, it's more between girls, but we have all the structures, everything is in the same building,” she explains, while she spent two years in the Dôme Puy, after four years in Font-Romeu at Pôle Espoir.
Powerful and explosive in her struggle-she measures around 1.70 for around 70 kilos–, she “is above girls and she needs boys to train”, specifies her coach at INSEP, Nodar Bokhashvili. “We work to move her opponent, force him to open her struggle, provoke her, make her attack, so that she can set up her reminders and her counterattacks,” he explains.

Born from a Malian mother and a French father, she is the third of a siblings of five children, and discovers the struggle thanks to her two older brothers, accustomed to the yellow carpet. “I had never done other sports before, and I like everything that is combat sports,” she claims.

A little hesitant to leave the family cocoon for Font-Romeu in 2010 at 12, she is encouraged by her mother. “She told me that she thought me mature enough to go there, and that if I didn't like it, I could come back anyway.” A paid choice, to the point of missing, for lack of experience and at just 18 years old, qualification for the Rio Olympic Games last year, where France only sent two representatives. “It is necessarily a failure, because each time I lose a place in qualification,” she plague. But what could be better than a global title among the juniors-in an upgraded-at the end of August, to forget this little hitch in his career.

This year, the objective is very clearly displayed: the Worldwide at home in Paris. This did not prevent him from already being found the Marseillaise twice (Euro U23 in March and Euro Junior in June) and from winning her first senior medal, from bronze to the European championships. The 2017 Worlds, two days after her 19th anniversary, are a stage for her in Olympiad who had to bring her to the top to the Olympic Games 2020 in three years. “Tokyo, I'm going to go for gold. Not for silver or bronze, but gold!”

Then, it will be a place at the Games in Paris in 2024, a summond while it is one of the 24 members of the Committee of Athletes of the Application Committee, and that it is part of this generation to shine at home in seven years.