Close contact, explosive pace, raw strength and tactical brilliance are just some of the shared languages between judo and rugby sevens.
For France’s -52kg, four-time Olympic judo medallist Amandine Buchard, those shared qualities have opened the door to an ambitious new pursuit.
At 30, Buchard has her sights set on qualifying for, and competing in, both sports at the Olympic Games LA28.
Ahead of her return to competition on 16 April at the 2026 European Judo Championships, Olympics.com revisits an exclusive interview with Buchard at the 2025 World Judo Championships.
In it, Buchard reflects on balancing her two passions and explains why the crossover between judo and rugby may be more natural than it first appears.
Buchard on rugby: “I have everything to prove.”
Buchard grew up both on the tatami and the rugby pitch, but as she reached cadet level, the elite competition eventually demanded a choice. Judo won and quickly became the foundation of a remarkably successful career.
Buchard made her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, where she claimed silver in the -52kg category after a narrow defeat to Japanese rival Uta Abe in the final. She also secured gold in the mixed team event, delivering France its first title in the discipline’s Olympic debut, and defended that title at Paris 2024, while also securing an individual bronze medal.
Her resume also boasts four world championship bronze medals and two European championship titles, in 2021 and 2023.
That consistency has also carried its own burden, expectations, pressure, and weight of being among the favourites. Competing on home soil at Paris 2024 only intensified it all.
“Before the Olympic Games in Paris, my mind was not in a good place because I had a lot of pressure, a lot of stress,” she told Olympics.com. “These Olympics were very hard. People expected me to win everything. Of course, I wanted it too, but the pressure was constant.”
Seeking balance, Buchard found herself drawn back to a familiar place from her childhood.
“To be successful, I needed distance from judo. I started rugby again to settle my mind, and it was the best decision. I feel so good; new environment, new people, new challenge. I love it.”
“[In rugby] I’m starting from zero. I have no status, and that doesn’t put pressure on me. On the contrary, I have everything to prove.”
In September 2024, she left PSG Judo Club and later joined Stade Français, in October of that year, playing for the Pink Rockets rugby team, a move designed to support her dual-sport ambitions through the Olympic cycle.
The crossover, she explains, is not only compatible but actually quite mutually beneficial.
“As we saw in Grand Slam Tbilisi [2025] and in Dushanbe, I won with some techniques that I never did in competition, and this is because when I’m playing rugby, I do other movements. I have better reflexes. I’m feeling better in my body. I feel stronger physically.”
“I can’t imagine judo without rugby, nor rugby without judo.”
Looking ahead to LA28: can the double dream become reality?
Buchard’s dream to compete in both judo and rugby on the Olympic stage is not new.
She had hoped to attempt the double at Paris 2024, but scheduling did not make it possible. At LA28, the window opens.
The women’s rugby sevens tournament is set for 12-15 July, with judo running from 15-22 July, and finishing with the mixed team event. The -52kg category, Buchard’s day, is scheduled for 16 July. It’s tight, but possible, pending qualification and selection.*
“This cycle is a bit special because I’m not doing only judo, I’m playing rugby too,” she said. “My two goals are to be selected for the French national team in rugby and continue to be a top fighter in judo”.
Combining the two sports at a top level, Buchard says, is not a challenge for someone like her. “I’m a worker and I never abandon it, you know. Every time I focus on my goal and give my best.”
“The bigger the challenge, the more it pushes me,” she added. “The judo and rugby project doesn’t really exist. That’s what makes it exciting, the idea that I could be the first to do it.”
That dual focus also provides emotional balance of sorts. After setbacks on the tatami, rugby continues to offer a reset. “Even when I lose, I know I have another competition coming with my rugby team. I switch, I do what I have to do, and then I come back to judo ready to work again.”
Despite her four Olympic medals, Buchard’s motivation remains sharp. A senior individual world title still eludes her, as does the individual Olympic title. “When I arrive at INSEP, I don’t have my individual frame on the wall because I’m not a world champion or an individual Olympic champion. That’s a small personal goal.”
“My passion for judo is not gone.”
That passion is certainly evident in her recent performances on the World Judo Tour.
She heads into the upcoming European championships on the back of a medal at the prestigious 2026 Paris Grand Slam, a victory at the 2025 Guadalajara Grand Prix, and a runner-up’s finish in Lima. Having last competed at a continental level in 2023, she already boasts two European titles.
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at La28 depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/throws-and-tries-amandine-buchard-s-bid-for-a-judo-rugby-sevens-olympic-double-at-la28
