Judo: bronze medal for Amandine Buchard

Amandine Buchard, a judoka supported by Ostrum Asset Management*, won Olympic bronze, which, in the context of Paris 2024, is worth its weight in silver or gold!

On stage

She’ll long be watching the video of her entrance on the stage of the France Club to share her medal with the massing crowd of French fans. And this is something that no one can ever take away from her; it will be a part of her for all time! Amandine Buchard, a judoka supported by Ostrum Asset Management, was immensely happy as she stood there on Monday, July 29, 2024, and she let this joy shine brightly through! Perhaps it’s because bronze is the most daunting of medals to win in judo, even more so than the gold because you have to go out and fight for it, immediately after suffering a defeat in the semi-finals… You just have to get up, and go out on the mat again! Judo is a combat sport. It’s not just a question of demonstrating your physical fitness or putting up a good performance; it’s about challenging an opponent. And this challenge is more than merely physical: it’s a battle of wills, one against the other. And the complexity of this battle lies in the struggle to refocus your energy, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat!

More than just a medal

It was a bumpy ride but Amandine managed to qualify for the semi-finals. Buoyed up by the crowd on the Champ-de-Mars, she soon received a blow to her lip and was unable to withstand the wave that had been sweeping her Uzbek opponent forward throughout the day. This Uzbek judoka, who blocked Amadine’s path to the final she’d been dreaming of for the past three years, would subsequently go on to defeat the Japanese favorite, unbeaten since 2019. Amadine, at the moment of her defeat in the semi-finals, was devastated. But she had to stand firm and preserve her winning spirit at all costs: “It’s true that I’d lost big… but I could still see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel: the bronze medal that I didn’t want but would ultimately become my medal of joy in the here and now!” Captured after a grueling and seemingly endless golden score, this bronze medal will be one of the finest victories in Amandine Buchard’s sporting career; the one she will certainly remember the most!

* Ostrum Asset Management is an asset management company affiliated to Natixis Investment Managers.

Hear what Amandine Buchard said in our video interview, just minutes after winning the bronze medal:

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Watch “United by the Flame,” the exclusive documentary film about Groupe BPCE’s partnership with Paris 2024. Directed by Manuel Herrero, it features nine athletes and para athletes supported by Group companies, including Amandine Buchard.

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