Half a century later, on the final evening of the Paris World Judo Championships Veterans, friends, family, teammates and colleagues gathered at the headquarters of France Judo to honour the man who opened the door for generations to come. In a setting filled with warmth, humility and heartfelt emotion, stories flowed, laughter rose and memories resurfaced, all woven together by the legacy of a champion who never stopped giving back.
As Stéphane Nomis, President of France Judo, so aptly put it in his opening words, “It changed the history of French judo. Dear Jean-Luc, you opened the way 50 years ago for every French champion who followed but your journey didn’t end there. You carried on tirelessly for French and world judo. That title was extraordinary, and everything you’ve done since has been just as impactful.”
Then, one by one, close companions and fellow judoka, those who had fought by his side on the mats and walked with him through life, took the floor.
Jean-Paul Coche began with laughter, “Jean-Luc was wild, the kind of wild that changes the world for the better. On the mat, you never knew where he was going, left, right, surprise after surprise. His fights were among the most beautiful we’d ever seen. With him, it was never half-measures, either he threw for ippon or got thrown trying. His world final was madness, pure self-sacrifice; he gave everything. He showed us it was possible, that we too could do it.”
Jean-Jacques Mounier, Rougé’s long-time teammate, recalled their early days, “We met as cadets in Portugal and in 1968 we were sent to Japan. We had no idea what was happening; we got smashed! But we held on and from then on, we were inseparable.”
Others shared equally powerful insights. Jean-Claude Brondani remembered Rougé walking off the mat in Vienna, nearly collapsing from exhaustion, “He told me, ‘I was ready to die on that tatami.’ That’s the measure of his courage, of how far he’s always been willing to go.”
For Pierre Guichard, former national technical director, the memory is a tapestry of laughter and brotherhood, “We were always together. Jean-Luc was the heart of the group, our natural leader.”
Then came the voice of Jean-Pierre Tripet, noting not only the athlete but the man, “It’s the human being that stays with me. For Jean-Luc, friendship is a sacred thing. He’s a man of the people, turned towards others, dedicated, determined.”
Among so many heartfelt testimonies that would be too long to summarise, finally, Thierry Rey, a member of the next generation of champions, summed up the ripple effect of that 1975 victory, “I was 16 when he became world champion. It was an explosion in French judo. Suddenly, we knew we could reach the stars too.”
The evening concluded with fitting words from Larbi Benboudaoud, “Thank you, Jean-Luc, for opening the door and above all for never closing it.”
Fifty years on, the legacy of Jean-Luc Rougé is not just a title in the record books, it is a living force that has shaped the course of French and world judo. He did not simply win for himself, he won for all who would follow. And as his friends gathered to celebrate him in Paris this week, one thing became clear: the greatest victories are not those that end on the podium but those that continue to light the way for others.
Some champions are remembered for their medals, others for the worlds they make possible. Jean-Luc Rougé is both.