Competition after competition, Hélios Latchoumanaya is paving his way to gold, heading to the Paris Paralympic Games. Crowned European parajudo champion at the beginning of August in Rotterdam, the Guadeloupean, with visual impairment, won on Thursday, August 24, in the J2 category (people with visual impairment) of less than 90 kg at the World Parajudo Championships in Birmingham. organized by IBSA (International Blind Sports Federation).

After struggling to beat Georgian Lasha Kizilashvili – he finally won in the gold score –, Hélios Latchoumanaya quickly dispatched his quarterfinal against the Ukrainian Dmytro Solovey in ippon. The same in the semifinal against the Brazilian Marcelo Casanovas: ippon. The only thing left to do was beat the Kazakh Zhanbota Amanzhol in the final. But the Guadeloupean won’t really have to fight: his opponent accumulates fouls, forcing the referee to declare him the loser. The gold medal goes to Helios.

After winning bronze at the 2021 Paralympic Games, Hélios Latchoumanaya is clearly the favorite for Paris 2024. For the second year in a row, the parajudoka thus combines the title of European champion and world champion. “In Paris there is no other objective than the gold medal. I would be disappointed if I get ‘only’ the silver”, admitted to the program tomorrow the games from France information.

Born in Tarbes, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, the 23-year-old Guadeloupean followed sports training in Bordeaux and Toulouse before joining the National Institute of Sport, Experience and Performance (Insep). In addition to high-level sport, Hélios Latchoumanaya followed a Sportcom course at the Journalists Training Center (CFJ) to become a radio journalist once his parajudo career ended.

Also present on the tatami in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Guadeloupean Romuald Raboteur, French champion in 2023 J1 (blind categories) over 90 kg, was eliminated in the first round.