LARROQUE Koumba

General
POSITIVE IMPACT OF INJURY
After winning her second junior world championship title in September 2018, she took part in the senior world championships in Budapest, Hungary the following month where she faced Ukrainian Alla Cherkasova in the final of the 68kg category. After leading 6-0, Larroque was caught by her legs and rolled consecutively by Cherkasova, resulting in a fracture to the meniscus of her right knee. She continued the match and scored four more points before ultimately losing 15-10. "The doctors wanted me to stop, but I decided to continue despite the injury, as I couldn't stop the final like that. I paid for it the following day when I couldn't walk, and I returned to France in a wheelchair. I give everything, and never give up." The long period of recovery affected her confidence. "I saw time passing, I began to lag behind. I hadn't fully rediscovered my fight or my feelings, my confidence was gone." At the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, her second major competition after returning from injury, she was eliminated in the round of 16 and failed to secure Olympic qualification. However, she believes the injury and the postponement of the Olympic Games ultimately worked in her favour. "[In 2018] I went straight from the junior world championships to the seniors, and if I wasn't injured I also would have taken part in the U23 worlds that year. We had to slow down the pace, so the injury did me good. It allowed me to relax and take a step back from wrestling. Last year [2019] was a race against the clock. I'm approaching it differently now. I put less pressure on myself. I've had the time to prepare myself and find my level." (fflutte.com, 01 Sep 2020)

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS
She says she tries to use social media to change stereotypes of female wrestlers. "It's important because there are still people who think that wrestling is a male sport. I find it hard to understand that. I like to show that away from sport and training, I take care of myself. I can be feminine, I wear make-up. I'm just like other girls. I put photos of myself in my wrestling singlet in training, and it doesn't bother me that you can see my muscles, but normally I like to dress so that I'm more comfortable in my clothes. I prefer that people don't know that I'm an athlete. I love it when someone says you can't tell I'm a wrestler." (fflutte.com, 01 Sep 2020)

FAMILY HERITAGE
She was born in Paris, France, to a Malian mother and a French father. She visits Mali often and says she would like to build a family home there one day. (fflutte.com, 01 Sep 2020; indianexpress.com, 26 Jan 2018)

FUTURE CAREER
After her competitive wrestling career is finished she plans to work in physiotherapy, and does not want to remain involved in wrestling. "Wrestling is a part of my life. Once my career is over, I want to break away from this environment and discover other people. I can't ever see myself as a coach. I left home at the age of 12 and since then I've dedicated myself to wrestling every day. After my career I want to discover other fields. It feels good to be outside this world, to meet different people, like at physio school. You realise that life is not just all about training." (fflutte.com, 01 Sep 2020)

At age 19 years and 2 days she won a bronze medal in the 69kg category at the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France, which made her the youngest French wrestler to win a medal at the senior world championships since Lise Golliot-Legrand won gold at the 1995 edition. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2021)

She became the first French athlete to win a medal in wrestling at the Youth Olympic Games, when she claimed bronze at the 2014 edition in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2021)