For the first 3 minutes of normal time it was close, both able to attack but both also able to avoid being scored against. As the final minute approached, the Frenchman found another gear and he launched a huge, arial uchi-mata which seemed to surprise the Japanese judoka. He landed and waza-ari was given by the referee, Mr Ofer Ben Zvi. 20 seconds later he scored again, this time with a seoi-otoshi, to ascend to the top step of the medal rostrum.
In the first bronze medal contest, home athlete Enzo Jean had a tough challenge ahead of him to get past one of the highest ranked athletes of the Paris cycle, Jorre Verstraeten (BEL). Jean rose to the task; Verstraeten made the mistake of standing up to avoid a ne-waza exchange and Jean kept a tight hold of his back, picking him up and flattening him on the tatami for a very clear ippon and a huge cheer from the crowd. It has been an excellent day for the young Frenchman, extending himself to win a medal at home.
Bakhrom Boturov (UZB) and Cedric Revol had one chance left to step on to the Paris Grand Slam podium, the first of the Los Angeles cycle. Revol and Valadier Picard were billed as the big rivalry but with Revol having to fight for bronze instead of gold and with Jean already having his medal secured, Revol absolutley had to win his medal fight. Boturov was not of the same mind though!
It was a close contest but a dynamic one. At the end of full time a single shido sat on the white side of the scoreboard but the Uzbek was not worried about it and continued to apply pressure. Revol seemed to be defending more than attacking but it was not one-sided by any means and with a minute of extra time gone, Revol put in the strongest attack so far but it still did not offer a landing for scoring purposes.
At the 6 minute mark, two minutes into golden score, Boturov chose to go for a huge attack, a ko-soto-gake reminiscent of the great Orujov (AZE) and Revol was propelled up into the air, landing on the back of his shoulders, enough for a yuko score and a bronze medal. Revol would be in third place among the French -60 kg contingent today while Uzbekistan would take their first medal of this grand slam.
Final (-60 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-60 kg)
